Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said that the government is planning to change the Triple Lock system, which limits and controls overseas Irish military operations.
The current Triple Lock system requires that before Irish troops can be deployed overseas, the decision must be sanctioned by the government, must have a United Nations mandate, and the Dáil must vote in favour of the move.
However, speaking in the Dáil today during a debate on the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy, Tánaiste and Defence Minister Micheál Martin said Ireland required a system that allowed “agility and responsiveness.” He argued that by amending legislation in this area, the country could avoid “surrendering sovereignty,” as he criticised the UN Security Council.
“Of course, as we saw over the course of the [Consultative] Forum, there is no single consensus over how to proceed with the Triple Lock,” he said.
“But we saw ample evidence of other options on how to allow agility and responsiveness while ensuring our actions comply with the highest standards of international law.
“It would therefore make sense, I believe, to amend our existing legislation in a manner which would allow us to respond to crisis situations with more agility, and where in making these important decisions, we are not surrendering our sovereignty.
“I have therefore instructed officials in the Department of Defence to prepare legislative proposals without delay that would govern the future overseas deployments of our Defence Forces.”
He said that such a move could allow Ireland to deploy Defence Forces troops overseas on missions organised by a regional organisation such as the European Union or the African Union, or where a host country was requesting such assistance.
“While these proposals may not necessarily always include a role for the UN Security Council, they will of course remain fully consistent with the principles of the UN Charter and international law,” he added.
“By making this change in the future, we would be removing the veto power of Security Council members over Ireland’s engagement, while safeguarding the essential link with international law and good governance.”
Criticising the role of the UN Security Council – which features China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States as permanent members – he said that the body faced “systemic challenges.”
“It is my clear view that we cannot ignore the systemic challenges facing the UN Security Council,” he said.
“That is most evident in how difficult it is to agree or renew UN peacekeeping mandates, which we saw at first hand while on the Council in 2021 and 2022. It is striking, for instance, that not a single new peacekeeping mission has been authorised by the Security Council since 2014.
“Let’s be clear that many crises that the Council deals with never get near the stage of discussion on a peacekeeping mission or even on a comprehensive peacebuilding plan. Look at Ukraine: for reasons that we all know, the Council has not even issued a statement on the issue, never mind agreed on a Resolution.”
Here he was likely referring to the fact that Russia is a member on the Council.
“It took almost 6 weeks after the attack by Hamas in Israel and the terrible loss of life in Gaza for the Council to agree on a Resolution calling for humanitarian pauses,” he added.
“The implications of this for Ireland and our current policy is simply something we have to take seriously. We cannot just revert to sound bites. We have to be honest about the fact that in respect of many of the worst crises internationally, where rapid, impartial and decisive international action is desperately needed, the [Security] Council has not been able to act.”
According to an Irish Times/Ipsos poll in June, 61% of Irish voters said they favoured the current model of neutrality, while just 26% said they would like to see it change.
Majority of voters favour neutrality but want increased military capacity, poll finds https://t.co/mmBsYUlG4M
— breakingnews.ie (@breakingnewsie) June 17, 2023