Mr. Declan Power:

It is good to see Senator Tom Clonan again. My simple answer is "Yes". I trust our Government far more, whatever issues I might have with whatever government. I feel privileged to be a citizen of a country that has a strong and vibrant democracy. I served in uniform, like the Senator did, under several Governments. I gave my oath of allegiance to the Constitution of this country, which I still consider myself to be bound by. I continue to trust in the judgment of government and also in the judgment of the Irish people and the Irish democratic system that allows us to have these kinds of discussions and debates. Things are far from perfect regarding defence in this country and they have been this way for a long time. That is a whole discussion in its own right but I do find it bizarre - and I think generations in time to come will find it bizarre - that we considered it a better option to let the P5, the permanent Security Council members, dictate Irish foreign policy and dictate situations where Irish troops could or could not go.

To answer the other question of whether there is a better way to do it, we are outliers on this issue. We just need to come back in line with other democracies, particularly European democracies. They go by the UN Charter regarding the deployment of troops. I would not see there being any change. We have embarked on a number of missions, some that were UN-directed, in other words, blue helmet missions, some that were EU-led with a UN mandate and some that were NATO-led with a UN mandate. They all had for us at the time a UN Security Council resolution. As I outlined, however, that was problematic. What we want is to be agile. As long as we adhere to the tenets of the UN Charter and work within regional security organisations, where required, this would not stop us taking part in a UN peacekeeping mission but one has not been authorised since 2014 and it is very unlikely that one will be authorised. This is the way I see it at this point in time.