Neutrality and Triple Lock: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-16
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Donna McGettigan (SF), Clare

I thank my party colleague Deputy Ó Laoghaire for bringing this forward. The blue beret is a symbol of Irish neutrality and peace. It shows that the wearer is an impartial protector of innocent civilians, not a combatant in somebody else's war. We are proud of our neutrality, and we are proud of every Irish man and woman who has served under the blue flag of the UN, keeping the peace in some of the most dangerous places. Since 1958, not a day has passed without an Irish soldier deployed under a UN flag somewhere in the world. That is our tradition and contribution. It is something that we are rightly proud of.
To be clear, any fundamental change to Ireland's foreign and defence policy must have the consent of the Irish people because the Government cannot ask this country to simply trust it. Can we trust the Minister to stand up to powerful figures like Ursula von der Leyen? The Minister cannot be trusted to defend Irish neutrality when it comes to the military use of a civilian airport in Shannon Airport, and now she wants to dismantle the triple lock. Why? Because once that safeguard gone, she is handing future governments a blank cheque, carte blanche , to deploy Irish troops into international situations without the same protections and safeguards that have existed up until now. Decades of neglect mean that we need to absolutely invest in our Defence Forces, in the equipment and conditions they need to do their job safely, but the Government cannot allow this to be used as a smoke screen to undermine neutrality.
The triple lock is not an obstacle to Ireland playing its part in the world. It is a protection, and it is part of what has allowed Ireland to maintain its proud tradition of independent, impartial peacekeeping. The evidence points to strong public support for retaining these protections. If the Minister is so certain that the Irish people support dismantling the triple lock, put it to them. Do not make this decision over their heads, because Irish neutrality belongs to the people. Any government that wants to dismantle that should have the courage to ask the people of Ireland for their consent.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-16