THE TAOISEACH AND Sinn F\u00e9in clashed in the D\u00e1il today during Leader\u2019s Questions ahead of a debate on the triple lock scheduled for Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in leader Mary Lou McDonald accused the government of \u201cpushing ahead\u201d with the removal of the triple lock without consulting the people of Ireland.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Triple Lock is the mechanism under which Irish troops can be deployed overseas.<\/p>\n
Under it, these deployments need to be approved by the UN, government and a D\u00e1il resolution.<\/p>\n
She accused the government of \u201cmoving away from peacekeeping and towards military adventurism\u201d and said scrapping the policy \u201copens the door for Ireland to be dragged deeper into EU military structures\u201d.<\/p>\n
Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin said that peacekeeping has been one of the \u201cgreat manifestations of Ireland\u2019s outreach to the global world\u201d and said McDonald\u2019s \u201cidea that we\u2019re about to abandon that is outrageously hyperbolic\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t take lectures from you in terms of the conduct of foreign policy,\u201d he continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said the government won\u2019t be taking \u201clectures\u201d from Sinn F\u00e9in about foreign policy as, he claimed, the party \u201conce supported Nazism during World War II\u201d.<\/p>\n
This particular comment caused shouting to erupt in the D\u00e1il, leading to the Ceann Comhairle calling for order.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oireachtas TV<\/a> \/ YouTube<\/p>\n The Taoiseach continued: \u201cWhen \u00c9amon de Valera affirmed the policy of our neutrality during World War II, Sinn F\u00e9in leaders colluded with the Hitler regime, and Sean Russell was the key person.\u201d<\/p>\n He accused Sinn F\u00e9in of unveiling \u201ca statue to Se\u00e1n Russell\u201d and said: \u201cHow dare you lecture me about Irish neutrality? You haven\u2019t an inch of credibility in that respect.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Martin said Sinn F\u00e9in \u201ccouldn\u2019t have given a continental\u201d about neutrality for \u201cmany, many decades\u201d.<\/p>\n