Defence (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2021-10-20
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Alice-Mary Higgins (IND), National University of Ireland

Yes, I am talking about seconding people in that context. I have taken on board the Minister's point about the difference between seconding individuals and seconding contingents. However, the legislation as it stands allows for the seconding of a contingent - a whole group of Irish military forces - to an international organisation. These international organisations could, as has been outlined, include NATO. The new legislation allows for the formalisation of command control. I do not think that this scenario is likely to happen, but our laws should be clear on it. That is part of international credibility. Our international credibility should not just be down to a series of good decisions. It should be around being clear that we are militarily non-aligned in politics that are based on interest and on military blocs that take action in preservation of their own members' interests. That is not what Ireland does. I am trying to ensure that we are clear on that.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2021-10-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:49:43+00:00
Sitting date: 2021-10-20