Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I asked the Tánaiste whether he had considered the position we are in. Accepting the Tánaiste's rationale that we have to do this, I contend it would have been much better had that decision not been made. It is crucially important if for no other reason than just imagining a hypothetical scenario where a peacekeeping mission is going to Gaza. I am sure whichever body was organising it, it would look at the Irish and asking whether they could trust these lads not to pull out. That is what we are doing as regards the peacekeeping mission in the Golan Heights. To do that, and the reason it has taken quite an amount of time from the original decision being made, others need to step up to plate, just as we stood up to the plate when a previous state withdrew.

The point I am making is that this goes to the heart of dichotomies in the Government's position. On the one hand, it is saying we need to get rid of the triple lock in order to be able to participate in missions that do not have a UN mandate. The Tánaiste has yet to cite what precisely that is. He cited a hypothetical mission in Gaza-----

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