Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Since the United Nations was founded, Ireland has stood steadfast for peace, multilateralism and acting only through a United Nations mandate. These have been core pillars of our international policy. This was something the Taoiseach used to recognise. He said attempts to dismantle the triple lock were "an out-of-touch ideological obsession on the part of Fine Gael which ignores the facts of Ireland’s international standing". Fianna Fáil has now been in government with Fine Gael for so long that their ideological obsessions have merged. Back then, the Taoiseach was clear the triple lock was at the core of our neutrality. He lambasted Fine Gael for its attempts to undermine it. Today a succession of Fianna Fáil Ministers are joining the Fine Gael chorus stating that the triple lock has nothing to do with our neutrality. It seems they have all drunk the Fine Gael Kool-Aid and are now singing off the same hymn sheet.

There have always been aggressors on the world stage, always those who seek to carve up the world and its resources. Ireland has always stood strong against these malign forces. In today's world, Putin and Trump are leading the charge to rip up multilateralism and we should never, ever follow them down that path. The response should be to stand strong in defence of peace and the United Nations. Instead, the Taoiseach is seeking to ditch Ireland's commitment to a multilateral approach.

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