Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Almost every week here in the Dáil, a question over our neutrality is raised. It seems the Irish Government, including both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, are eating away at our neutrality, for whatever reason, I do not know. Our Defence Forces have been under-resourced for decades, leaving this country wide open to attack if we in any way play around with our neutrality, which has served us well. We should be using our neutrality in a far more positive way to create peace across the world, but instead we seem to want to stand by one country or another in conflict, closing the door for us to create peace, like other countries have done. Russian ships have hovered over our communications infrastructure at sea and we have stood idly by. Our Defence Forces' helicopters are flown up into the sky only for the doors to open and fall down to the ground. This tells you they are totally and utterly under-resourced.

The recent announcement by the Tánaiste to scrap the triple lock, which prevents more than 12 Irish troops from serving overseas without UN approval, faced strong, immediate criticism, particularly due to the triple lock's perceived importance in safeguarding Irish neutrality. The legislative basis for the triple lock dates back to 1960 but gained prominence in public discourse only around 2001. Initially conceived as a concrete reassurance device regarding the Nice treaty, it became a guardrail for neutrality. However, the Government argues that abolishing the triple lock allows Ireland to respond swiftly to global crises without relying on UN decisions. However, this approach risks severely compromising Irish sovereignty and could lead to the participation in aggressive military operations and the prospect of our sons and daughters being forced to go on military missions to fight in foreign wars.

Over the weekend the Business Postpublished an opinion piece by the Tánaiste and Fianna Fáil leader, Micheál Martin, on his decision to scrap the Irish triple lock, a fundamental element of Ireland's neutrality. Curiously the 1,100-word article failed to explain how Martin shifted from ardently supporting the triple lock in 2020 prior to the last election when he and his party pledged to protect it if elected. Martin's article implied that those supporting the triple lock were akin to supporters of the Chinese and Russian presidents, which is scandalous.

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