UN Security Council veto to be removed for Defence Forces deployment under new plans

Irish troops will be sent overseas following a national decision-making process with no veto for the UN Security Council, under plans due to be approved by Cabinet on Tuesday.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin will bring a memo to Cabinet with proposals to change existing legislation governing overseas deployments for the Defence Forces. Mr Martin will seek Government approval to draft a Bill which will remove the current triple-lock system of deployment.

Under the existing triple-lock mechanism, which sets the conditions for the deployment of Defence Forces’ personnel for peacekeeping, any such mission must come with a UN mandate and be approved by the Government. If more than 12 personnel are deployed and are armed, it must also be approved by a Dáil resolution.

Mr Martin will tell Ministers that the new legislation will not change Ireland’s traditional position of military neutrality, and that the new law will remain fully consistent with the principles of the UN charter and international law.

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Government and Dáil approval would still be needed for the dispatch of Defence Forces’ personnel to take part in peacekeeping and similar missions.

At present, the UN Security Council has responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security but no new peacekeeping mission has been approved by it in a decade. The current system effectively allows UN Security Council members to veto deployment of the Defence Forces.

Mr Martin is expected to tell Cabinet that there is a growing need to be able to dispatch troops quickly with the flexibility to urgently respond to any crisis where, for example, Irish citizens require assistance abroad.

He will also say that in the case of the evacuation of citizens, the global security situation has changed fundamentally over recent years leading to an increasing demand to assist with evacuation operations.

[ Ireland seeking to abandon ‘triple lock’ restriction on troop deployment ]

The new legislation will also look to “simplify” authorisation for Ireland to participate in international live military exercises, such as around the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy.

Separately, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien will update Ministers on ongoing work to protect the integrity of elections from misinformation and artificial intelligence (AI) manipulation.

A new framework has been developed following a request from the Minister to An Coimisiún, and targets online platforms, online search engines, political parties and election candidates.

[ Defence Forces’ intelligence bureau audits soldiers’ bank accounts for any links to private military contracting ]

Also on Tuesday, Green Party Minister of State for Land Use Pippa Hackett and Fianna Fáil Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue will seek Cabinet approval for a €79.5 million package for farmers and landowners whose forests have been impacted by ash dieback.

The €79.5 million fund will see farmers given a €5,000 per hectare payment when they clear ash sites and re-establish new forests in their place.

The average ash plantation is 3 hectares, meaning a payment of €15,000 for those landowners. A farmer with 10 hectares of ash will be eligible to receive €50,000 in addition in addition to grants covering the costs of clearing and re-establishing the site.

Farmers who have already cleared and re-established sites under previous ash dieback schemes will also qualify for this €5,000 per hectare payment.

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