Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 29 May 2025

Committee on Defence and National Security

General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion

2:00 am

Photo of Tom ClonanTom Clonan (Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

We are talking about the future. When you remove the triple lock, there is no safeguard in law other than the understanding that any future Government can send any number of Irish troops anywhere in the world for peace enforcement - full combat operations - on the basis of a simple Government majority.

That, to my understanding, is not a safeguard. It is the complete removal of any safeguard and there will be no safeguard in law. What is the largest military formation the Defence Forces can deploy overseas now?