Social Democrats TD Sin\u00e9ad Gibney has called on the Government to urgently outline what specific changes are being proposed to the Triple Lock arrangement as part of the upcoming Defence Bill.<\/p>\n
Deputy Gibney, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on defence, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Triple Lock is an integral part of Ireland\u2019s longstanding tradition of neutrality. It means that Irish troops can only be deployed overseas if there is approval from the Cabinet, the D\u00e1il, and if the mission is UN-mandated. This protection formed a key part of gaining assent from the public on the Lisbon Treaty.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government has signalled its intention to remove the UN component of the Triple Lock, but it is not yet clear what it will replace it with. The planned removal of this protection was called out last week by international peace organisations in an open letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cResponses to parliamentary questions I received raise serious concerns about the Government\u2019s plans and suggest it is intent on dismantling, not reforming, the Triple Lock.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirstly, I strongly disagree with T\u00e1naiste Simon Harris\u2019s contention that there is no connection between the Triple Lock and our military neutrality.<\/p>\n
\u201cSecondly, it is deeply worrying that, in his response to me, Mr Harris only refers to the need for D\u00e1il and Cabinet approval for the deployment of Defence Forces\u2019 personnel overseas as part of any modification to the Triple Lock.<\/p>\n
“We are in danger of giving up on the UN as – in the Taoiseach’s own words – an \u2018essential part of the international system\u2019. Nobody is saying the UN is not flawed but we have no answers on what replacement mechanism for a UN mandate will be suggested, or how it would be adequate.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout confirmation that a third international body will be included in the legislation to replace the UN mandate \u2013 and what form that would take \u2013 this effectively means the Triple Lock would be abolished.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the Defence Bill scheduled as priority legislation in the Spring Legislative Programme, the Government must immediately clarify its position.\u201d<\/p>\n
February 20, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Social Democrats TD Sin\u00e9ad Gibney has called on the Government to urgently outline what specific changes are being proposed to the Triple Lock arrangement as part of the upcoming Defence Bill. Deputy Gibney, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on defence, said: \u201cThe Triple Lock is an integral part of Ireland\u2019s longstanding tradition of neutrality. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11661,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[407,7,497],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-defence-forces","category-press-release","category-sinead-gibney"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n