Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

A conversation needs to be had in Ireland about the much-publicised Government plans to get rid of the triple lock. It is one thing to get rid of something but what will it be replaced with? That is not yet clear but I am sure it will be when the legislation is published. My hope is that the legislation is not guillotined in the way so much legislation has been in this House. This is not the fault of any one person but there was a tendency towards the end of the last Government for legislation to be not put through pre-legislative scrutiny and to be guillotined and pushed through the Houses. This happened with the wording of the two amendments to the Constitution that were rejected by the people last year.

We need to be very clear what we mean if we remove UN authorisation as one of the layers of the triple lock. In effect, this would mean that the only recourse is Government approval and Oireachtas approval. However, if there is a simple Government majority, as is the case now, it means that any future Government can send any number of Irish troops anywhere in the world, without recourse to the wishes of the Irish people.

We need to be really careful about that.

Do I trust the Government? Do I trust my colleagues across the floor? I do, but governments get it wrong. If we get it wrong in the sending of Irish men and women – our children and grandchildren – it is a very serious matter. Therefore, I propose that under no circumstances should a simple Government majority be allowed to send Irish troops abroad when that number is over 50. It is reported that the Government will put in place a new threshold of 50 troops. I imagine that such a detachment could be dispatched by Cabinet in the event of an emergency. I do not have an issue with that. At the moment, the number is 12. That is impractical. I would have suggested 120. If it is more than 50 troops to be deployed, a two-thirds majority of the Dáil and Seanad should be required and there should be a free vote, with no Whip imposed. Everybody should vote with their own conscience when putting men and women in harm’s way. No TD or Senator should ever be whipped into making a decision to send our troops into harm’s way. Things are very febrile, at present, but it is not the end of the world order. It is a change in the world order. We should not abandon our shared and collective values of the rules-based order; we should cleave ever more closely to it. Let us see what is on offer. I ask my colleagues in the House to think carefully because future generations will hold us to account.