Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Three years ago we had a state like Russia upend the multilateral order, upend the UN Charter and invade a peaceful country like Ukraine. I was the Minister for Defence for two years before becoming Taoiseach and saw at first hand how the existing legislation restricts our capacity to participate in overseas events. Even the number of 12, for example, is ridiculously low and is hampering our efforts to get in to help civilians in very difficult situations, be it in Sudan or elsewhere, and to extricate them from trouble spots. We need far more flexibility than the current framework gives us. Without question, watching what has been happening in the Security Council for the past number of years, I have come to the view that there is no way.

A number of peace missions will emerge from it. We have not had one sanctioned by the Security Council since 2014. As the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, knows, it was at the eleventh hour that we got permission for the continuation of Operation ALTHEA, which enabled us to continue to participate, but only just.

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