Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to respond, on behalf of the Government, to the proposed legislation. I convey the apologies of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, who cannot be here because he is attending a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Latvia.

The Government welcomes the debate because it affords an opportunity to restate our continued commitment to Ireland’s long-standing policy of military neutrality and set out how and why we strongly support this policy. The Government attaches great importance to our military neutrality. The policy dates back to the Second World War and successive Governments have restated their commitment to it. That commitment remains as strong as ever under the Government which was most recently set out in January in its foreign policy review, The Global Island: Ireland’s Foreign Policy for a Changing World, which states, “Our policy of military neutrality remains a core element of Irish foreign policy”. The Government is, therefore, very clear on our policy of military neutrality. We are also very clear that the legislation proposed to the House is unnecessary and could potentially impact negatively on Ireland’s ability to contribute positively in the international community.

There are provisions in the Constitution that underpin Ireland’s policy of military neutrality. Article 29 of the Constitution establishes the framework within which Ireland conducts its international relations. It commits us to the ideals of peace and friendly co-operation among nations founded on international justice and morality, adherence to the principle of the pacific settlement of international disputes by international arbitration or judicial determination, and acceptance of the generally recognised principles of international law as its rule of conduct in international relations. In particular, Article 29.1 states “Ireland affirms its devotion to the ideal of peace and friendly co-operation amongst nations founded on international justice and morality”, while Article 29.2 confirms that “Ireland affirms its adherence to the principle of the pacific settlement of international disputes”. Further safeguards on this issue are provided in Article 29.4.9° which imposes a constitutional block on Ireland’s participation in a common defence under Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union. The constitutional safeguard was inserted in 2002 at the time of the Nice treaty referendum and reconfirmed in 2009 in the Lisbon treaty referendum. This safeguard will remain in the Constitution unless and until the people decide otherwise in a referendum on a future occasion. Moreover, the Protocol on the Concerns of the Irish People, attached to the Lisbon treaty, specifically recognises Ireland’s policy of military neutrality stating, inter alia, that, “The Treaty of Lisbon does not affect or prejudice Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality”.

One of the motives behind the Bill may be to ensure we do not deploy the Defence Forces in support of military operations in international conflicts. The Defence Acts set out the parameters within which Defence Forces personnel may be deployed on international operations. Any such deployment is constrained by the provisions known as the triple lock. The triple lock requires that, where participation by members of the Permanent Defence Force in overseas peace support operations is proposed, the operations must first be mandated by the United Nations; second,approved by the Government and, third, approved by way of a resolution of Dáil Éireann where the size of a Defence Forces contribution is more than 12 personnel. The triple lock provisions also form part of the national declaration made by Ireland in respect of the Lisbon treaty.

Successive Governments have pursued a policy of military neutrality which is characterised by non-participation in military alliances such as NATO and non-engagement in mutual defence commitments. Ireland’s concept of military neutrality has served us well. Ireland has not become involved in conflicts that have resulted in death and destruction at different times since the Second World War. We choose to remain neutral but not out of a sense of fear; nor should our decision to remain militarily neutral be interpreted as a lack of interest in issues underpinning conflicts or an isolationist stance.

Ireland's approach to international relations is founded on a full and active engagement in the international community in support of international peace and security and the rule of law. We follow and will continue to follow this policy of militarily neutral but full engagement because as a committed member of the United Nations we subscribe fully to the principles set out in the UN charter. In particular, we believe disputes between states should be resolved in a peaceful manner. This is set out in the provisions of Article 2(3) of the UN Charter which states, "All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered". We subscribe to and are bound by the provisions of Chapter 6 of the charter which deals with the pacific settlement of disputes and Chapter 7 which sets out provisions for joint action in respect of threats to the peace and acts of aggression. We are also committed as a UN member to meeting our obligations to contribute troops for deployment on UN mandated missions, whether those are peacekeeping or peace enforcement operations, requiring combat-ready and capable troops.

Since 1958, the Defence Forces have made an extraordinary contribution to such UN missions and some members have made the ultimate sacrifice. As a nation, we are very proud of the role the Defence Forces have played and continue to play in very challenging and difficult missions. The men and women of the Defence Forces have earned an excellent reputation as peacekeepers and their professional skills and experience are much sought after throughout the world.

As of 1 March 2015, Ireland is contributing approximately 429 Defence Forces personnel to 11 missions throughout the world. The main overseas missions in which Defence Forces personnel are deployed are the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, with 199 personnel, and the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, UNDOF, in Syria with 138 Defence Forces personnel. Other missions include the NATO-led international security presence, KFOR, in Kosovo with 12 personnel, the EU-led operation ALTHEA in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with seven personnel, and the EU-led training mission in Mali, with ten personnel, and which I will visit in a few weeks time and the NATO-led resolute support mission in Afghanistan with seven personnel. These missions are undertaken in pursuit of the guiding UN principles, namely, to maintain international peace and security and to take effective collective measures to prevent and remove threats to peace.

Concern has been expressed at various times, including this morning, about Ireland's participation in NATO-led operations. I again highlight the fact that NATO-led operations such as the resolute support mission in Afghanistan and the NATO-led KFOR mission in Kosovo have been authorised in accordance with the requirements of the Defence Acts by UN Security Council resolutions. They are operations undertaken at the behest of the United Nations, authorised by it and very often involve working with a UN mission. Ireland's participation in them in no way infringes on our traditional policy of military neutrality and our participation is both welcomed and supported by the United Nations.

Ireland's co-operation with NATO is conducted through the Partnership for Peace, PfP, which we joined in 1999, following approval by Dáil Éireann of the presentation document. Our purpose in participating in the PfP is to improve our military capabilities so as to be able to participate effectively and safely with other nations in UN mandated operations. In other words, it is about inter-operability without which our troops would not be as safe they are. In joining PfP, Ireland, in common with other PfP nations, reaffirmed its commitment to fulfil in good faith the obligations of the United Nations Charter and the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Equally, Ireland reaffirmed its commitment to the Helsinki Final Act and all subsequent documents of the OSCE. Ireland's decision to participate in PfP is in full accordance with our policy of military neutrality. Other like-minded states, in particular Austria, Switzerland, Malta, Sweden and Finland also participate in PfP for the right reasons.

Concerns have also been expressed at various times that our participation in the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union has posed a threat to our military neutrality, which is not true. Ireland's traditional policy on military neutrality is completely unaffected by our membership of the European Union or by any treaties associated with the Union. We are not, and will not become, part of an alliance or a permanent military formation. The guarantees under the Lisbon treaty and Ireland's declaration make this clear. Any form of common defence can only come about if all the member states agree unanimously. Even if the member states were ever to agree this, Ireland could not participate without a separate referendum.

What has developed in the context of CSDP operations with military elements is that the Union now engages in a wide range of crisis management operations, invariably in support of or in partnership with the United Nations. These actions are referred to as the Petersberg Tasks, which are humanitarian and rescue tasks, peacekeeping tasks and the tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking, joint disarmament operations, military advice and assistance tasks in supporting the reform and restructuring of security services and legal institutions in fragile states, conflict prevention and post-conflict stabilisation. These are the sort of tasks already undertaken on UN mandated crisis management operations, combining the efforts of both civilian and military personnel.

In regard to EU missions and operations overseas, Ireland has the right of veto over launching any mission. Also, it must be recognised that our triple lock would prevent Irish troops from participation in any peacekeeping or peace enforcement mission without a UN mandate. I made that clear to my colleagues on Defence Council at a meeting in Riga as recently as two weeks ago.

At the time of the Lisbon treaty, our European partners responded to provide absolute clarity for the European Union at large and Ireland, in particular, around the security and defence issues. This was done by means of a legally binding decision of the Heads of State and Government of the EU member states at a meeting of the European Council. That decision has now also been given effect to through the protocol on concerns of the Irish People, which has entered into force as an instrument of primary EU law, with the same status as the EU treaties, following its ratification by all EU member states. The protocol, which includes a section containing legal guarantees on security and defence, clearly states that the treaties do not provide for the creation of a European army, or conscription and that any involvement in any aspect of security or defence is entirely voluntary. The Union has no authority to determine how, where and on what we spend money on defence or to suggest how much we should spend on defence.

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