Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of the triple lock. It has been reported widely that the Government is considering removing the triple lock and will introduce legislation to do so in the coming weeks. I have some serious questions for everyone in this House in this regard. I am trying to be as constructive as I can. The triple lock consists of a UN Security Council resolution, or UN Assembly approval, as well as Dáil and Oireachtas approval. Those are the three layers. If the UN dimension is removed, it does not revert to a double lock, but rather just one. A simple Dáil majority could send Irish men and women to a conflict zone. I am worried about that because we need to know what other mechanisms will be in place. At the moment, we can only send 12 troops overseas without the mandate of the triple lock. For example, we have sent troops to Afghanistan from 2002 onwards. Irish troops served in Afghanistan with NATO in that peace enforcement mission. I am not even sure many Irish people are aware that Irish troops, under the Irish flag, served in Afghanistan for quite a lengthy period of time. Why not just raise that number, which is within the gift of the Government, from 12, which is effectively section strength, to, let us say, 120, which is company strength? That could deal with the emergencies that arise, like repatriating citizens from an airport or carrying out humanitarian or emergency response work, and we could leave the triple lock in place.It would remove the difficulty the UN Security Council mandate poses. If we are just going to go to a simple majority, will it be a free vote? It should be a free vote? Nobody in here should be whipped into sending Irish troops abroad and into harm's way. It should be a free conscience vote. If we are sending troops overseas, there has to be some sort of veto or safety valve. Should the Council of State be convened to review a Government decision? I trust the Government but it does not always get things right and we need to be really careful about that. Let us not have our troops sent abroad by simple Government majority in the same way it has guillotined legislation through this House without reference to any argument. We need to be very careful about our military non-alignment and neutral status. Despite what has been said in the media over and over again, our international partners have no problem with our military non-alignment. They respect it. It is a national competency. It is being framed at the moment in the context of the Trump Presidency and the war in Ukraine as something we should get rid of or be ashamed of. That is not the case, so let us not use the triple lock as a stepping stone - a manufacture of consent - to dilute, erode or remove our neutrality.