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“The Taoiseach believes that we have a parliamentary system, but at the same time is ignoring his parliamentary party,” Aontú leader Peadar Toibín has said in response to Micheál Martin’s opposition to holding a referendum on changes to the Triple Lock.
Speaking to Gript on the Leinster House Plinth this week, the Meath-West TD criticised the Taoiseach’s reasoning after Martin dismissed the possibility of holding a referendum on the issue, arguing that Ireland is a parliamentary democracy and that elected representatives should make such decisions.
Toibín pointed to reports of dissatisfaction within Fianna Fáil over the Government’s plans to remove the Triple Lock mechanism, which currently requires UN approval before significant overseas military deployments involving Irish troops.
He argued that members of the Taoiseach’s own party had not been adequately consulted.
“If the Taoiseach believes that we have a parliamentary system, yet at the same time is ignoring his parliamentary party, I think that shows there’s a big problem,” Toibín said.
“The fact that we have 20 Fianna Fáil TDs stating categorically that there was no engagement in relation to this with them is quite startling.
“You know, the idea, first of all, the membership of Fianna Fáil, the councillors of Fianna Fáil, and the parliamentarians of Fianna Fáil should be the individuals that are creating policy and they’re determining policy within that political party, and it seems like they are basically an unwanted added extra to Micheál Martin’s political objectives in this country.”
Toibín went on to argue that Irish neutrality has historically been central to Fianna Fáil’s political identity, citing both Éamon de Valera and Bertie Ahern.
“Micheál Martin is like the anti-Fianna Fáiler in so many ways,” he said.
“He actually takes so many positions that are in complete contradiction to the grassroots and the membership.
“And, you know, the idea that literally Micheál Martin is treating Fianna Fáil parliamentarians like mushrooms, keeping them in the dark and throwing manure over them in relation to these issues, is absolutely wrong.”
The Aontú leader also argued that the Triple Lock had been linked to public support for the Nice Treaty and that its removal would represent a democratic issue.
“There is no doubt that the Triple Lock was democratically coupled with Nice 2,” Toibín said.
“Individuals made that decision at that time very, very clearly as a result of the Triple Lock.
“Deleting the Triple Lock is an affront to Irish democracy. It is an affront to the Irish people, and it is part of a choreographed plan of this government to ease this country into an EU Defence Union.”
The comments came after Martin was asked by Gript outside Government Buildings ahead of this week’s Cabinet meeting whether the Government would consider holding an ordinary referendum on legislation relating to the Triple Lock.
The Taoiseach said he was opposed to expanding the use of referendums beyond constitutional amendments.
“As a parliamentarian for quite a number of years, I would not be in favour of having referendums, outside of the normal referendums that we’ve had to date, in terms of amending or deleting from the constitution,” Martin said.
“Because we’re not Switzerland… we have a parliamentary democracy, and we should legislate on issues if that is our wish, we’re democratically elected.”
Martin also stated that constitutional provisions relating to common defence would remain unchanged.
Gript put it to Toibín that the Taoiseach has repeatedly argued that neutrality and the Triple Lock are separate issues, and that removing the mechanism would strengthen Ireland’s sovereignty by preventing foreign powers on the UN Security Council from exercising an effective veto over Irish military deployments.
Toibín rejected that argument and said the Triple Lock plays a key role in preserving Irish neutrality.
“I think Micheál Martin is a master of euphemism in relation to this, absolutely gutting words of their true meaning in relation to neutrality,” Toibín said.
“So, on the UN Security Council, when major military blocs are in opposition to each other, aligning with one or the other means you are actually in part of an alignment with a military bloc.
“So that is the whole point of the Triple Lock, and deleting that aspect means that Ireland will be in a situation in the future where it will align with one military bloc and in opposition to another military bloc.”
Toibín argued that Ireland’s international reputation is built upon its neutrality, peacekeeping record, and involvement in conflict resolution efforts.
“Ireland has a very good name as an honest broker in terms of neutrality,” he said.
“We have our peacekeepers who have held the line in so many different locations. We should be exercising that name as an honest broker to try and be a catalyst for peace.”
He also questioned Ireland’s current military capabilities, arguing that the State remains reliant on agreements with other countries for aspects of its defence.
“The idea that we have a competency in a military fashion is a nonsense,” Toibín said.
“This government actually is signing MOUs with Britain and with France, seeking military cover by those two countries of our seas and our airspace due to the fact that we are unable to defend ourselves.
“We have an ability to float two ships currently out of eight in the Navy at the moment. We’re nearly at a historic low in terms of the number of soldiers we have in this state.”
However, he added that neutrality requires a greater investment in national defence capabilities.
“I believe that if we want to be a neutral country, we as a country have to invest in our defence forces to make sure that we have the ability to look after our skies, to look after our seas,” Toibín said.
“We are quite exposed in those terms, given the level of ICT and communication wires and pipelines that run through our seas.”
The Government’s proposed reforms to the Triple Lock would remove the requirement for UN Security Council authorisation before deployments of more than 12 Defence Forces personnel overseas. Ministers have argued that the existing arrangement gives countries such as Russia and China an effective veto over Irish military missions.
Opponents of the changes have argued that the Triple Lock is closely connected to Ireland’s longstanding policy of military neutrality and that any attempt to remove it should be put before the public.
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