An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-26
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Gerard P. Craughwell (IND), Labour Panel

I want to be associated with the congratulations to Seán Kyne. Saturday and Sunday were nail-biting and showed the value of the single transferable vote. I am delighted for Seán and his family. A more decent man you could not meet. We will be holding interviews for the position of Leader over the coming days - CVs to me before the close of business this evening.
To my colleagues who have spent their time in both Houses crying about the triple lock, Ireland's neutrality and all of that nonsense, yesterday was the start of the collapse of Ireland's peacekeeping missions overseas. Operation Irini is still continuing, but Irish service personnel cannot serve any more. They have been withdrawn with effect from 24 May. Let us watch over the coming months as we withdraw more and more of our Defence Forces people back home because of an infantile process known as the triple lock.
Who in this House would go to their next-door neighbour and ask if they could let their husband or wife out for a drink tonight? Who would ask some stranger if we could let the children out? Yet we are quite happy to allow the English King, the President of the United States, the President of France and the President of Russia to decide where we will send our troops. Is it not time that we grew up as a sovereign nation?
Can we imagine the position of General Seán Clancy, the current chairman of the European Union Military Committee? He is an Irish general who cannot see his own countrymen serve overseas. This nonsense has to stop. It really does. People are telling me today that there were fewer than 12 people involved, so the Government did not have to withdraw them. I ask them to check the law. The Government had no choice. It had to withdraw them. I would like to see the legislation on the triple lock come into the House before the break and let us put an end to this nonsense.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-26