Mechanism governing dispatch of Irish troops abroad has to be reviewed, says Micheál Martin

The requirement for UN Security Council mandate as well as authorisation from the Cabinet and Dáil before Irish troops can be sent abroad “has to be reviewed”, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has said.

Speaking in Washington on Thursday, he said that such a review of the “triple-lock mechanism” was not part of the programme for Government but that “events have emerged”.

He said ultimately the requirement for the UN mandate as part of the triple lock “could lead to a situation where a country like Russia essentially could veto our participation in a worthy and meritorious peace keeping operation”.

“We have to reflect on that, the Oireachtas has to reflect on that,” Mr Martin said.

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The Tánaiste also said that he and Irish officials had received a briefing from US authorities about the Chinese balloon shot down last weekend which the Biden administration has insisted was on a spying mission.

Mr Martin also suggested that the behaviour of Russia in invading Ukraine last year was not consistent with that of a permanent member of the security council. However, he said reform of the UN had proved “quite difficult and challenging”.

He said that UN peacekeeping was “probably the defining manifestation” of Ireland’s foreign policy and its commitment to peace in the world.

He said that the triple-lock arrangement could lead to situation where a country like Russia could block Ireland from taking part in a peacekeeping mission.

“That is something we are reflecting on. And we have to reflect on.”

“It is not in the programme for Government but nonetheless events have emerged. We see the emergence of the Wagner group [a Russian paramilitary organisation] and so on and big countries like Russia now wanting influence in different parts of the world. They may not want peacekeeping in certain locations any more and they have the wherewithal to stop a genuine peacekeeping mission. We do have to reflect on all of that and it is something I would be concerned about.”

Asked about his meeting with the state department about China, Mr Martin said: “We were briefed in relation to the balloon incident. We had a broader discussion in terms of the US relationship with China and the EU relationship with China.

“Everyone is agreed that we need to do everything we possibly can to navigate that relationship in as constructive and positive a way possible in terms of the broader global challenges we face such in respect of climate change and economic relationships.

“There are issues that will continue to arise in relation to those sets of relationships. But I was struck when I met recently with the German chancellor following his visit to China and he was quite heartened by the response of the Chinese authorities in respect of the nuclear situation in the context of Ukraine. Engagement is important and that is a matter for the US and Chinese governments to work out in the fullness of time.”

The US said this week that it had had provided briefings in Washington and Beijing to diplomats from about 40 countries in relation to the Chinese balloon it shot down last weekend.