{"id":660766,"date":"2026-10-20T21:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T21:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/660766\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T21:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T21:58:14","slug":"triple-lock-neutrality-row-fuels-fractious-dail-exchanges-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/660766\/","title":{"rendered":"Triple lock neutrality row fuels fractious D\u00e1il exchanges \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The intensifying row over the legislation to end the triple lock on peacekeeping missions led to disruption in the D\u00e1il as Opposition parties held up signs with the message: Save Neutrality.<\/p>\n

The protest followed testy exchanges between Sinn F\u00e9in leader Mary Lou McDonald and Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin over the issue, which has united the entire Opposition.<\/p>\n

She accused the Government of wanting to move away from peacekeeping and towards \u201cmilitary entanglement\u201d and \u201cmilitary adventurism\u201d with a guillotine on the second stage or introductory debate on the Bill, to be introduced on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Opposition parties left and right in D\u00e1il unite to resist shelving neutrality triple lockOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Under the triple lock, the Government must secure UN approval before 12 or more members of the Defence Forces can be sent overseas with an armed international force or body. The Government wants to remove the UN requirement.<\/p>\n

McDonald said Irish people want no part of the \u201cmilitary might is right\u201d agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur neutrality keeps Ireland outside this dangerous military race to the bottom. It allows us to speak for freedom, human rights, and justice,\u201d she said, adding the Government\u2019s move is \u201can enormous step\u201d.<\/p>\n

McDonald warned, \u201cit is literally inconceivable any taoiseach or government would push ahead with this without seeking first the permission of the Irish people\u201d.<\/p>\n

But rounding on the Sinn F\u00e9in leader, the Taoiseach said it was \u201coutrageously hyperbolic\u201d to suggest the State would abandon significant commitments to the rule of law and to many marginalised people in conflict and humanitarian crises worldwide.<\/p>\n

He told her, \u201cthere is no balance to what you were saying. You use language like military adventurism, military entanglement. Who is going to engage in military adventurism? Do you think D\u00e1il \u00c9ireann is?\u201d he asked, angrily.<\/p>\n

Martin said he would take \u201cno lectures\u201d from a party \u201cthat once supported nazism\u201d during the second World War. <\/p>\n

To repeated heckling, he said when \u00c9amon de Valera affirmed the policy of neutrality, Sinn F\u00e9in leaders \u201ccolluded with the Hitler regime and Se\u00e1n Russell was the key person\u201d involved.<\/p>\n

He said Sinn F\u00e9in \u201chaven\u2019t an inch of credibility\u201d on neutrality because \u201cfor a long, long time, you saw you saw any conflict that Britain was involved in as Ireland\u2019s opportunity, right beyond World War II, and so therefore you couldn\u2019t have given a continental about Irish neutrality for many, many decades\u201d. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Poll: Coalition may face battle to remove triple lock as voters align with OppositionOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

He claimed Sinn F\u00e9in was saying Russia \u201cshould have a veto on Irish participation in peacekeeping\u201d, and the US and China.<\/p>\n

And he warned \u201cthe Lebanon Unifil mission is about to end with no prospect of our participation\u201d in a follow-up because of the US decision not to support continuation of the mission.<\/p>\n

During the D\u00e1il protest, Sinn F\u00e9in, People Before Profit-Solidarity, Labour and some Social Democrats held up the posters, and Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy had to repeatedly insist they take them down, with Labour and Social Democrats the first to adhere to her call.<\/p>\n

\"\"Is diversity in politics dead? <\/p>\n

Sinn F\u00e9in defence spokesman Donnchadh \u00d3 Laoire insisted debate on the legislation not be guillotined tomorrow, a call echoed by Labour\u2019s Duncan Smith, who said it was a \u201cmodest ask\u201d.<\/p>\n

People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Richard Boyd Barrett said guarantees on the triple lock were made in the Nice referendum. \u201cWhen we pick up these signs, we\u2019re holding you to account for commitments that were made to the Irish people about neutrality, which is their property, not yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins said \u201cthe whole of this country is upset and concerned about this\u201d and the debate should not be guillotined.<\/p>\n

Government Chief Whip Mary Butler said the Bill would get three hours and 34 minutes of debate tomorrow. But she was repeatedly heckled when she said voting had to be completed by 9pm on Wednesday, as the clerk of the D\u00e1il explained at the business committee \u201cthat voting has to be completed at 9pm because of the work-to-rule that we are under orders on\u201d. <\/p>\n

Butler rejected Opposition claims that the Government is \u201ctrying to rush the Bill\u201d.<\/p>\n

Later on Tuesday evening, a proposal to retain some connection with the United Nations as part of a triple lock mechanism was suggested at the meeting of Fianna F\u00e1il TDs and Senators. <\/p>\n

Former minister for defence Willie O\u2019Dea suggested at its Parliamentary Party meeting that the general assembly could provide a basis for mandating peacekeeping missions. <\/p>\n

O\u2019Dea was one of several TDs who argued that UN General Assembly be explored as an alternative to avenue to the Security Council as a means of achieving UN approval. <\/p>\n

The assembly has not given permission for a mission in over 70 years, having deferred such decisions to the Security Council. Vetoes exercised by its five permanent members has resulted in no UN peacekeeping mission being sanctioned since 2014. <\/p>\n

One proposal made at the meeting was that decisions and criticism made by the General Assembly on international conflicts could perhaps give some legal basis for a peacekeeping mandate involving Irish troops.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The intensifying row over the legislation to end the triple lock on peacekeeping missions led to disruption in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660767,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,7038,43],"class_list":["post-660766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-irish-politics","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}