Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for joining us today. As the Tánaiste said, we meet at a time of great global instability, not least because of the tariffs announced yesterday, because of ongoing conflicts and, as Senator Andrews highlighted, because of the genocide we are seeing unfold before our eyes. It is within this context that I reaffirm the importance of Ireland's commitment to peacekeeping and, within that, the integrity of the triple lock and working within the UN system. As the US, one of the largest global powers, seeks to undermine international co-operation, we must stand firm. We must invest at national and EU level in people and in the services which address poverty and the economic instability we face, rather than in huge defence spending which will take away spending from addressing the needs of working people. It is in this context that I want to talk about the need at national and EU levels to keep our commitment to UN multilateralism. That is why I and my colleagues in the Social Democrats are steadfast in our belief and arguments around maintaining the triple lock. Yet, we continue to hear claims, including from the Minister of State, that the triple lock obstructs peacekeeping missions. Let us be honest - the facts say otherwise. Between 1993 and 2024 Russia has never used its veto to block a mission. Even if a Security Council deadlock were to occur, the Minister of State knows the UN General Assembly has the power to act. The Uniting for Peace resolution, which was adopted in 1950, allows the UN General Assembly to override a Security Council veto, as it did in the 1956 Suez crisis. Our own 2006 defence Act recognises this mechanism, meaning the triple lock can be satisfied by a General Assembly resolution. If the Government believes the Security Council veto is a problem, why does it not seek to end the veto? The permanent representative from New Zealand said in 2023 that "the casting of a veto is not a display of power, but rather an act of weakness which shows the caster of the veto has failed to convince others of their position". In 2022, the UN strengthened this principle with Resolution 76/262 requiring a General Assembly debate whenever a Security Council veto is used. Since then, this process has been activated twice. We in the international community are not powerless in the face of veto nor should we abandon our long-standing principles based on hypothetical concerns. Through the 2006 defence Act, the triple lock allows for a deadlock in the Security Council to be addressed which means the General Assembly endorsement of Irish military deployment is sufficient to satisfy the triple lock.

I want to be clear; I am not saying the UN is a perfect system. It needs reform. However, abandoning that system and walking away from it, which the Government will do by removing the triple lock, will further contribute to the splitting of member states into regional blocs. That will create a significantly more dangerous international landscape across the world, particularly in light of the tariffs we are seeing. The UN mandate and the process of getting that mandate serve a key role in ensuring appropriate international support has been garnered for peacekeeping missions. The UN system ensures sufficient checks and balances are in place to monitor missions and, critically, to ensure our missions are human rights-compliant and to uphold international law. Without the UN safeguards in place, we risk engaging in missions that are not compliant with international law. No one in this room or in this country wants to see that. The triple lock and the UN mandate are the foundations of our proactive peacebuilding role in the world. In a world dominated by global powers and rivalries with the US, the independence provided to us by the triple lock allows us to act as an honest broker. That means we are trusted by countries in the global north and in the global south. With my very limited time, I also wish to highlight the crisis we see in primary healthcare facilities with the USAID cuts and the need for Ireland and the EU to plug those gaps, particularly as regards infectious diseases, including HIV, which is spreading drastically and will cause a global health crisis in Europe, including Ireland.