Ms Niamh Ní Bhriain:

To continue on that point, the idea that the Security Council has a say over where we send our troops is disingenuous. This is where the Government pins its argument but it is a flawed argument. What the Security Council does is mandate a peacekeeping mission in general. The way the Government frames it, it is as though the members all sit down around a table and say, "Can we approve Ireland's participation in this mission?" That is not what happens. The Government frames it as though they are sitting in New York and saying Ireland can or cannot go on this mission. No. They take a list of criteria on whether, as a Security Council, they can approve a mission and then they approve it, and then it has the backing of the world's most powerful nations.