Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for his response. I am still no wiser about the specifics of the proposal being drafted. Obviously, the Tánaiste has given instructions to his Department and the Office of the Attorney General on what exactly will replace the triple lock. Is it to be a double lock in simply removing the requirement a UN mandate? Is it to be an altered mechanism with some substitution for the third leg of the current stool, if you look? I would welcome clarity on that.

The long-standing triple lock principle has been given repeatedly by all of us, including me, as an assurance to the Irish people during debates on EU treaties in the past when there were concerns about a diminution of authority. It is also seen as a layer of security for our troops deployed abroad that they are not being deployed as part of a geopolitical group but, rather, with the overall mandate of United Nations. How are these matters to be addressed in the Minister's proposals?

See this speech in context