Military Neutrality
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-09
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Helen McEntee (FG), Meath East

We are seeing the reason for moving on this now play out in real time. It is not just the decision taken not to continue the UN mandate in Lebanon where we have had members on the ground for decades.
In the last two weeks, I met members of the Defence Forces in Rome. On the very day I met them, they had to finish up with Operation Irini, which had a mandate to operate in the Mediterranean to prevent arms from getting to Libya. These members contributed significantly to that overall mission and are held in very high regard among members of the defence forces of other countries. They themselves told me personally that Ireland is the main one to lose out because of this mandate not being renewed. Irish troops, members of the Irish Defence Forces, and the people of this country will no longer benefit from the experience and knowledge those troops gain from being part of these missions. It is really important to take into consideration that we are not talking about some abstract concept. This is not about something that may or may not happen in the future or that happened in the past. As of now, we have troops in Lebanon whose mandate will not be renewed. The final troops went out on rotation in the last few weeks. That will finish next year. It will no longer continue. In the last two weeks, troops have had to finish up with a mission that will continue without us. The only people who will lose out are the Irish people and members of our Defence Forces, who have gained a wealth of experience from their participation in that mission.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:05+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-09