Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín TD has criticised the government ‘for declaring war’ on neutrality after the Tánaiste admitted Irish troops could be deployed as part of EU missions once legislation that the Cabinet approved last week to dismantle the triple lock, is approved.
The Meath West TD said:
“A key safeguard of Irish neutrality is the triple lock. The triple lock by definition prevents Ireland from being militarily aligned to any military block. The triple lock gives our troops the legitimacy of UN authority in peacekeeping”.
“EU hawks have being pushing hard for the development of an EU Defence Union and ultimately an EU army. The Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Independent Government are seeking to delete the triple lock. Mícheal Martin has agreed to changes in EU treaty decision making which include defence, military and security. This would significantly dilute Ireland’s say in future in these areas. The Tánaiste supports the deployment of Irish troops to future EU military missions. And to top all of this the government seeks to supply military aid, albeit non lethal aid to Ukraine. Its hard to believe the speed of change to military alignment by this government. Its quite shocking and its against the wishes of the Irish people”.
“The Tánaiste said Irish troops could be sent to Ukraine in the event of a peace accord. The proposed legislation will remove the requirement of a UN Security Council mandate for the deployment of Irish troops and increase the minimum number of troops deployed from 12 to 50. Plans to be approved by Cabinet this week that would see a non-lethal military aid package to Ukraine €100m. On top of this the government is in favour of an Irish contribution up to €750 million to a new EU security guarantee for Ukraine. It is clear that Ministers are taking a sledgehammer to our neutrality legacy.
Let’s be clear—if the government succeeds in dismantling the triple lock and engaging in geopolitics with military input, Irish men and women will be sent abroad to fight in foreign battlefields. The argument that the UN Security Council requirement should be removed because it gives power to its five permanent members is simply redundant when these measures will have Irish troops deployed under the auspices of the EU, commanded by other nations where the Irish people will have no input.
The government must abandon this relentless undermining of our neutrality and its desire to play with the big boys of Europe at the expense of the men and women of our defence forces and their families.”
