Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to briefly talk about the move by the Government on the triple lock. It is important to point out that no Bill has been published yet. It looks very much as if the debate will go on until the summer because it will take at least that long before the Bill comes before the joint committee and, from there, through Parliament to be debated. It is a matter of great concern that the debate taking place in the public arena is totally ill informed. We have people talking about the great neutral state of Ireland. Ireland is an independent country but not a sovereign state. A sovereign state is supposed to be able to protect its citizens on all five pillars - land, sea, air, cyber and space - and we cannot do that, as is acknowledged by everybody in the country.

I am shocked to hear parliamentarians not having trust in the political system and the Government to put in place legislation that will protect our citizens. That means not sending young men and women to wars in other countries. Let us be honest about it. We have served under NATO, the EU and the UN, always in authorised UN peacekeeping missions. People are saying the United Nations Security Council - the Russians, Chinese, Americans, British and French - might have a veto but you can always go through the General Assembly. That is factually incorrect. You cannot go through the General Assembly. The General Assembly can make recommendations regarding peace, peace talks and anything else but it cannot make a recommendation on peace enforcement or peacekeeping. We have to have an honest debate on this matter.

This morning, I read that hundreds of academics have written a letter stating we should protect the triple lock. Really and truly, would we ask our next-door neighbours to make decisions for our family? Let us think about this. Should we go back to the days when we took an oath to his majesty in this Chamber to get permission to send our people? Should we impose the triple lock on politicians to require that no more than 12 politicians or teachers can travel anywhere at any given time? We need an honest debate.

Brigadier General Rossa Mulcahy has just been appointed the new Chief of Staff and congratulations to him. He has taken on the most onerous role ever for a Chief of Staff. Let us get him in to apprise and inform the debate when the legislation comes before the joint committee. Let us listen to people who know what they are talking about and are qualified to talk on these issues. Let us then make a decision in a calm way. None of us in this Chamber or the other House want to see a situation where troops are sent into battle situations without due consideration of all of the risks. As we saw, Private Sean Rooney died in Lebanon not long ago. Soldiers die when they go on active duty. I ask that, as parliamentarians, we try, as far as possible, to calm this discussion.