Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

The conditions under which the Defence Forces may participate in overseas peace support operations have been made very clear by the Government. The conditions, which are known as the triple lock, must be satisfied. The operation must be mandated by the United Nations and it must be approved by the Government and by way of a resolution of Dáil Éireann.

Section 2 of the Defence (Amendment)(No. 2) Act 1960 provides that a contingent of the Permanent Defence Force may be despatched for service outside the State as part of a particular international United Nations force if, but only if, a resolution has been passed by Dáil Éireann approving of the dispatch of a contingent of the Permanent Defence Force for service outside the State as part of that international United Nations force. An international United Nations force is defined in the Defence (Amendment) Act 1993 as "an international force or body established by the Security Council or the General Assembly of the United Nations".

The UN mandate for the force and the Dáil resolution provided for in section 2 of the Defence (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1960 form two elements of what has become known as the triple lock. The third element is the Government decision approving the dispatch of the contingent and the introduction of an appropriate resolution in Dáil Éireann.

Section 2(2) of the Defence (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1960 provides that a contingent of the Defence Forces can serve overseas in the absence of a Dáil resolution in three situations, namely, where the force is unarmed, where the contingent consists of no more than 12 members of the Permanent Defence Force, or where the contingent is intended to replace, in whole or in part, or reinforce an existing contingent. Finally, as I have stated on many occasions both in response to questions in this House and in public speeches, there are no plans to reform the current arrangements in regard to the triple lock.

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