LEGISLATION TO REMOVE the triple lock on the deployment of Irish troops overseas has passed its first vote in the D\u00e1il tonight after 79 TDs backed the change and 71 opposed it.<\/p>\n
The triple lock means Ireland can\u2019t deploy more than 12 troops overseas without approval from the UN, government and the D\u00e1il.<\/p>\n
Tonight\u2019s vote came after hours-long debate on the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2026 \u2013 the legislation which would remove the triple lock.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shortly after the results were announced, Sinn F\u00e9in leader Mary Lou McDonald called for a referendum on the issue, arguing the move is a \u201cfundamental change to Ireland\u2019s neutrality\u201d.<\/p>\n
There was widespread criticism of the legislation from the opposition benches during today\u2019s three-hour debate.<\/p>\n
Opening the debate, Minister for Defence Helen McEntee said the legislation was required to secure Irish sovereignty and allow the Irish State to make decisions about where Defence Forces troops are sent.<\/p>\n
Opposition TDs argued that the removal amounts to an encroachment on Irish neutrality, something government TDs repeatedly rebuked during the debate.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s foreign affairs spokesperson, TD Donnchadh \u00d3 Laoghaire, accused the government of aligning itself more closely with military structures of Nato member states.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His Sinn F\u00e9in colleague, Rose Conway Walsh, who is chair of the Oireachtas Defence and National Security Committee, said the Irish people are deeply engaged in this issue and claimed that the \u201cvast majority are against this bill\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPushing a massive change through without proper public debate is completely unacceptable,\u201d she said, adding that it should be done via a referendum.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She concluded by saying: \u201cI recognise the genuine difficulties facing the United Nations Security Council, but the answer to a dysfunctional Security Council is not to abandon the UN framework.\u201d<\/p>\n
Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne told the D\u00e1il that the government\u2019s bill was a \u201ccomplete betrayal of the Irish people\u201d in relation to neutrality.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He accused Fine Gael of being the driving force behind the move to dismantle the triple lock and said Fianna F\u00e1il were simply going along with it. He added that this would be \u201cdeeply damaging\u201d for Fianna F\u00e1il.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Fianna F\u00e1il TD and junior minister Niall Collins said it was \u201cregrettable that much of the debate has been hijacked by blatant misinformation and populism\u201d.<\/p>\n
He argued that this bill will have no impact on Irish neutrality.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Labour\u2019s foreign affairs spokesperson Duncan Smith argued that the government does not have a mandate for this change and said that while the United Nations is \u201cimperfect\u201d, Ireland should not be distancing itself from it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should look at strengthening the UN with our voice and with our deeds, and I think this government will look back on this as a real regret, because it will be the moment that they turn their backs on a security framework, on the United Nations, and it\u2019s something they shouldn\u2019t do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A similar point was made by Social Democrats TD Sin\u00e9ad Gibney, who told the D\u00e1il that dismantling the triple lock would mean Ireland would be \u201cjoining all of those States that we are critical of and that are rendering the United Nations dysfunctional\u201d.<\/p>\n
Earlier today, McEntee said the government has the mandate to remove the triple lock and that the public has \u201cput their trust\u201d in this government to make decisions like this.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were a neutral country before the triple lock was introduced many decades ago, and to reassure people, we will continue to be a neutral country,\u201d McEntee said in Trim, Co Meath,\u00a0where she was attending the annual Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO) conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever\u2026we are not neutral when it comes to challenges, when it comes to security issues, when it comes to the risks that we face,\u201d she said, adding that removing the triple lock is necessary to make sure Ireland can respond to the \u201cthreats\u201d and \u201crisks\u201d we are \u201cseeing more frequently\u201d.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, members of opposition parties held up placards\u00a0reading \u2018save neutrality\u2019\u00a0after heated exchanges with Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin over<\/a>\u00a0today\u2019s debate.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Under the triple lock, the deployment of more than 12 Irish troops must be approved by the UN, the government and a D\u00e1il resolution.\u00a0<\/p>\n The government\u2019s proposed legislation would remove the requirement for UN Security Council authorisation.\u00a0<\/p>\n The government argues the reform is necessary to ensure Ireland can respond more flexibly with peacekeeping missions and to prevent Ireland from being blocked from participating in international missions due to UN Security Council deadlock or vetoes by permanent members such as Russia.<\/p>\n \u2018The triple lock is not working\u2019<\/p>\n Asked today if there is any appetite to put the changes to people in a referendum, McEntee said the triple lock was put in place at a \u201cvery different time\u201d and that it is no longer working as intended.\u00a0<\/p>\n McEntee argued that removing the triple lock actually enhances Ireland\u2019s neutrality by enabling Ireland to continue peacekeeping missions without UN approval.\u00a0<\/p>\n She pointed to the end of the UNIFIL peacekeeping mission in Lebanon as an example of the triple lock not working and noted that no new peacekeeping mission has been agreed by the UN Security Council since 2014.\u00a0<\/p>\n On a referendum, McEntee said that to alter the Irish Constitution in relation to this would make it \u201cmore difficult for us to respond to the changing world, to respond to evolving threats\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n She also made the point that TDs are democratically elected and that the government\u2019s removal of the triple lock is being done by democratic means.\u00a0<\/p>\n Her comments come after Mary Lou McDonald on Tuesday accused the government of \u201cpushing ahead\u201d with the removal of the triple lock without consulting the people of Ireland.\u00a0<\/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