The Government pushed through the second stage of legislation to dismantle the controversial triple lock policy last week, against fierce opposition in the Dáil. From Sinn Féin to People Before Profit, there is unusually united resistance towards the move.

The Government maintains that lifting the mechanism which dictates how and when Irish Defence Forces can be deployed to peacekeeping missions will strengthen Irish sovereignty. But critics, including President Catherine Connolly and former president Michael D Higgins, have warned that doing so will undermine our military neutrality. Is ending the triple lock merely a way to enhance Ireland’s capacity to perform peacekeeping, or is it a fundamental reorientation of our global position?

The triple lock mechanism essentially acts as a guardrail which dictates that no more than 12 Irish troops can be sent on active missions abroad unless there is a decision from the Government, approval from the Dáil and a UN mandate on doing so. Given the current schism on the Security Council between the five permanent (P5) members (China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, the United States), the UN has not authorised any new peacekeeping missions since 2011. The Government argues that deployment of Irish troops is essentially subject to a P5 veto, which reduces our authority over our own forces – and that to reassert total sovereignty over the Defence Forces, the need for Security Council approval needs to be abolished.

With the intention of passing the Bill before Christmas, the Government curtailed the debate last week to just four hours, which only had the effect of further inflaming tensions around the issue.

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