Abandoning the Triple Lock system would damage Ireland’s standing as a neutral country on the international stage, the Irish Anti-War Movement (IAWM) has claimed. 

It follows comments made by Taoiseach Simon Harris yesterday who aims to see the system removed “in the lifetime of this Government”.

The Triple Lock refers to a rule that no more than 12 members of the Defence Forces can be deployed overseas without permission from three bodies – Government, Dáil Éireann and the United Nations.

Mr Harris said that Russia’s seat on the UN Security Council means they “have a veto” in blocking Irish peacekeeping missions.

Irish UN peacekeeping soldiers in Lebanon, 19-3-2018. Image: AP Photo/Hassan Ammar.

On Newstalk Breakfast today, defence analyst Declan Power said that removing the Triple Lock is “something that needs to be dealt with”.

“It’s tying up loose ends that have hampered this country, operationally, and has damaged our standing politically in international missions we have participated in, in recent years,” he said.

Damaging

IAWM co-chair Mark Price said a change to Triple Lock damages Ireland’s standing as a neutral State.

“What’s damaged our standing is allowing the Americans to use Shannon Airport for the last 20 years," he said.

“What’s damaging our standing is the proposal by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael people to rope us into European Defence Agency activities, battle groups and so on.”

“Our standing was very high as a neutral country; a country that stood for peace in the past, and only did peacekeeping.

“That was when our standing was high, not taking part willy-nilly in military activity.”

A UN Security Council meeting, 19-10-2020. Image: Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua.

Mr Price said the Irish people don’t want to engage in more military activity.

“The vast majority of people in this country do not want to be part of the EDA, or other EU battlegroups – they want us to exclusively go on UN peacekeeping missions,” he said.

“The reason why Micheál Martin and Simon Harris want to get rid of the Triple Lock is they want us to have ‘freedom of action’ which means taking part in European Defence Agency battle groups and other European military formations which were formed at the behest of the arms industry.

“The head of Airbus boasted in 2004 that the EDA was ‘our baby’ – this is why they want us to join.”

Despite plans to reform the Triple Lock, Tanaiste and Defence Minister Micheál Martin has said NATO membership or giving up on Irish neutrality are “simply not on the agenda”.

Main image: Irish UN peacekeeping soldiers. Image: AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari.