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

It has been the absolute counterbalance to that since its inception and continues to be today. Ireland has directly benefitted from peace-building programmes such as the PEACE programme, which works to support peace and reconciliation and to promote economic and social progress in Northern Ireland and the Border region, but people simply choose to ignore that element of the EU. While there are some who may discuss closer EU co-operation in response to increasing security challenges, how such co-operation is designed is entirely in our hands. Our values, our principles and our neutrality are fully respected at the EU level. Ireland's participation in European common defence is prohibited by Article 29.4.9o of the Constitution. This protection is reinforced by the Irish protocol to the Lisbon treaty. Any change in that position could take place only with the approval of the people in a referendum to amend the Constitution.

The EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy, CSDP, is a recognition of the obligation on those states which are privileged to be part of this successful peace project to look to how they can help promote peace, prosperity, democracy and the rule of law elsewhere. There is a moral obligation on us to do so, and Ireland is proud to participate in those efforts. Tools and mechanisms are needed to allow states to work together efficiently and effectively to achieve those aims. PESCO is one such mechanism.

It is about member states making more binding commitments to each other to jointly develop military crisis-management capabilities for use in support of CSDP operations. Crucially in PESCO individual member states decide to opt in or not to opt in depending on the project or proposal.

Our participation in PESCO in no way diminishes or undermines our traditional policy of military neutrality. Certainly for Ireland, PESCO has nothing to do with the creation of a European army. Indeed, the Irish protocol to the Lisbon treaty unambiguously states that the Treaty of Lisbon does not provide for the creation of a European army. Rather Ireland’s participation in PESCO will contribute to the enhancement of capabilities for UN and EU-mandated missions. Inaccurate presentations of these policies and issues do a disservice to this House and to the public. Irish people are rightly proud of Ireland’s contribution to peacekeeping, whether that is through the EU, the Partnership for Peace, PfP, or the UN.

Ireland’s support for the work of the UN on international peace and security issues has been demonstrated by our continuous participation in UN peacekeeping missions for the past 60 years. Today, more than 600 Irish peacekeepers are serving in international crisis-management and peace-support operations across the globe and I, for one, am very proud of them. That participation is rightly facilitated by Members of the Dáil when needed, as part of the safeguards relating to participation by Defence Forces in conflict situations. The Defence Acts provide for the triple lock principle which governs the deployment of Irish Defence Forces personnel overseas. It mandates that: deployment for overseas peace support operations may only be made if that operation is mandated by the United Nations; deployment must also be approved by the Government; and if it is proposed to deploy more than 12 personnel, a Dáil resolution must also be approved.

It makes little sense to cast aside such protections and safeguards in favour of a Bill which, rather than enhance protections, could in certain circumstances undermine the work that Ireland is undertaking in the international sphere. The Bill could jeopardise Ireland’s ability to fulfil its obligations to support UN-mandated actions, in particular peace-enforcement missions under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

I am more than satisfied that Ireland’s long-standing policy of military neutrality is sufficiently safeguarded through existing constitutional provisions, through the protocol to the Lisbon treaty, through the Defence Acts, and through long-term strategies adopted by consecutive governments.

I have had the privilege of being Minister for Defence and I have the privilege of being the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. I have visited our troops on peacekeeping missions in different parts of the world, including in the Middle East and Africa, on UN-mandated missions in conflict zones. For me neutrality is not about inactivity or excluding oneself from difficult situations. It is about being proactive but not being aligned to any broader military alliance.

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