Neutrality and Triple Lock: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-16
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Louis O'Hara (SF), Galway East

The triple lock neutrality protection is a core part of our independent foreign policy. For decades, our military neutrality and the triple lock have served this State exceptionally well. They have allowed Ireland to play a respected constructive role in international affairs, giving Ireland a strong global reputation for peacekeeping, protecting human rights and supporting disarmament. Our neutrality matters more than ever as global conflicts grow and major powers ignore international law, yet the Government is determined to tear it down.
Let us be very clear - scrapping the triple lock would represent a massive step towards abandoning Ireland's military neutrality entirely. It opens the door for deeper involvement in foreign military alliances and allows future governments to deploy troops without a UN mandate, exposing Ireland to immense outside pressure and aligning us with the rising tide of militarisation across the European Union.
The triple lock is not just a policy. It was an explicit promise and assurance given to the Irish people by successive Governments during the Nice and Lisbon treaty referendums. To strip away this safeguard now without consulting the Irish people is an attack on our sovereignty and on our democratic process.
The Minister says that this is not about our neutrality. Micheál Martin once said that the triple lock was at the core of our neutrality, so what has changed since? The reality is that nothing has changed. Opinion poll after opinion poll has demonstrated that the Irish people deeply value our military neutrality and want to keep the triple lock intact. Even the backbenchers in government know that this is the wrong move. If the Government is so confident in its position, why hide from the electorate? What not put it to a referendum? That is one thing that the Minister did not address when she spoke. That is the very least that should be required for a decision of this magnitude, but the Government will not do it because it knows the answer it will get, and it knows that the Irish people want to maintain the triple lock and our neutrality. The Government is not serving the interests of the Irish people with this move. It should listen to the people and let the public have their say on the triple lock.

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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