Dr. Karen Devine:

I published an article with a co-author, Christine Agius, on the differences between the terms "non-alignment", "neutralism", "neutrality", "military neutrality" and "active positive neutrality". To complete my point about evidence of the importance of the triple lock, it was so important that it was put into a national declaration and exists, in a way, as an international agreement. It was used to persuade the electorate in Ireland to vote for the Nice treaty and used again to persuade the electorate to vote for the Lisbon treaty. It is extremely important for all other small states in the international system that look at Ireland as neutral and a good mediator on the side of the small state, as a small post-colonial state itself, and the triple lock is a symbol of that. Given that evidence, it is important to a lot of people outside the Oireachtas.