Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday, we witnessed the Government ramming through legislation about Dáil speaking rights without going through the proper due process. The public are rightly concerned that it will do the same with Irish neutrality. Any changes to the triple lock and Irish neutrality must be put to the people to decide. Is the Government afraid of a referendum on Irish neutrality? The Tánaiste's proposal to abandon the triple lock breaches multiple commitments given to the Irish people, particularly during the referendums on the Nice and Lisbon treaties. It represents a fundamental and negative shift in Irish foreign policy and goes against the will of the Irish people. I again ask the Government to give the people the opportunity to vote in a referendum on this matter. Let the people have their say.

We have a proud history of United Nations peacekeeping in this State. Has the Minister of State had any conversations with ordinary rank-and-file members of our Defence Forces, who will be asked to go to war-torn countries to keep the peace? Has he had any conversations with UN veterans, those who have served this State with distinction? I am a proud son of a United Nations veteran. My father served this State, home and abroad, for more than 25 years. While he is really proud of his service, and his family is really proud of the service he has given, the main reason he served abroad was economic. Plain and simple, it was to put food on the table for me and the rest of my family. Fast forward 30 years since my dad last served, and we still have Defence Forces members going abroad for economic reasons. A father of seven in my area goes away every six months and when he comes home after serving in the UN, has to sign on for the working family payment to keep food on the table for his family. That is not good enough. It will not be the children of Government Ministers who will have to go away and serve their country. It will be the working poor who will have to go away. History tells us that, so have conversations with the ordinary rank and file to make sure Irish neutrality is kept 100%.

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