Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 15, 44 and 45 together.

I reject the Deputy's assertion. That will not come as any surprise to him. As set out in the programme for Government, this Government intends to reform the legislation relating to the triple lock also ensuring that amendments to it are in keeping with our values and our policy of military neutrality. I might be shouting into a black hole in relation to this, but I really do hope we can actually have a debate which can respect that we all want to maintain military neutrality. I do, the Government does and the Deputy opposite does. I hope we can have a discussion about the detail of the legislation around the triple lock. Simply conflating the two does a disservice to the men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann. It does a disservice to our defence and security obligations as a country and to peacekeeping and the role our peacekeepers can play abroad. We can be militarily neutral and also say that we do not believe the UN Security Council should have a veto on where our peacekeepers go. Those two things are absolutely consistent with each other. The Deputy may have a different view, but that is my absolute view.

As I said to Deputy Gibney earlier, I want to engage constructively on this. I want to get the legislation right. I do not believe the current legislation in relation to the triple lock is fit for purpose. I have said very clearly that in amendments I bring forward, we will want to keep with our values and our policy of military neutrality. Please do not tell the people of Ireland that I am wishing to get rid of military neutrality. That is not my position. Do not misrepresent me, my party or the Government of Ireland.

The triple lock sets out a number of mechanisms in relation to how Irish troops may participate in overseas peace support operations. I believe a new process is needed to replace the current system, which underpins the deployment of Irish troops abroad and which does effectively allow the UN Security Council to bind Ireland's hands in its international engagement by veto or by a threat of veto. The previous Government had approved the drafting of the general scheme of a Bill to amend the legislation on how we deploy our troops overseas, in terms of overseas peacekeeping but also for other purposes, including evacuation operations of Irish citizens abroad. Many times in this House, Deputies have rightly highlighted important issues about how we get our people, our citizens - not troops - back from overseas in times of great danger and in a volatile geopolitical situation. The next step is to present draft heads of legislation to Cabinet and to publish them. Then, if and when we can get the Oireachtas committees set up quickly, let us go to an Oireachtas committee and scrutinise this and get it right.

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