Proposals to change Ireland’s triple lock for deploying the Defence Forces overseas have been described as potentially “very dangerous” by Sinn Féin, which has suggested it could result in Irish troops participating in foreign conflicts without a UN mandate.
Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris is set to bring proposals for changing the triple lock to Cabinet next month.
Under the triple lock, 12 or more Defence Forces troops cannot be deployed overseas without approval from the Dáil, the Government and the United Nations.
The Government’s proposal – to be set out in an outline of the proposed legislation – is to remove what is effectively a veto held by permanent members on the UN Security Council (UNSC), like Russia and China, on larger Irish overseas deployments.
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Deployments would continue to require Government and Dáil approval for peacekeeping and similar missions.
Mr Harris said: “I want to be clear that in bringing forward these proposals I have no desire to alter Ireland’s policy of military neutrality.
“What we are proposing would remain fully consistent with the principles of the UN Charter and international law.
“This will do nothing to change Ireland’s traditional position of military neutrality, which is characterised by Ireland’s non-participation in any military alliance.”
Opposition politicians have concerns over the plans.
Labour TD Marie Sherlock said on Sunday that there is an issue with the potential for the UNSC to block peacekeeping missions, but her party supports the triple lock.
She told RTÉ’s The Week in Politics that increasing the number of troops that could be deployed outside of the triple lock to 30 or 50 should be considered.
[ The triple lock - a guardrail of neutrality, or an abandonment of sovereignty?Opens in new window ]
Ms Sherlock said: “At the end of the day we have to be part of any UN mandate and not any other mandate – and the reality here is, by getting rid of the triple lock, Ireland is potentially leaving itself open to joining on to a Nato mission or indeed an EU mission in the future.”
Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy argued that the proposed change to the triple lock could be a “very dangerous position that will result in Irish soldiers participating potentially in foreign conflicts without a UN mandate, and I think that could have serious consequences for our neutrality”.
Speaking during the same broadcast, Fine Gael junior minister Hildegarde Naughton insisted: “What is being proposed is fully aligned with the UN Charter. It will not infringe in any way in Ireland’s military neutrality.”
She said the proposals will be deliberated on by an Oireachtas committee.
Ms Naughton added: “There is a veto there at the United Nations Security Council which basically ties our hands as a country who is known right across the globe for peacekeeping.
“So we need to deal with that.”
