The deployment of Irish troops abroad will be finally decided upon by the State’s courts, not by the Oireachtas, if the Government does away with the triple lock, Labour leader Ivana Bacik has said.
The Government plans to get rid of the triple lock, which requires the approval of the Government and the Dáil as well as a United Nations mandate before more than 12 soldiers can be sent abroad.
Speaking at the MacGill Summer School in Glenties, Co Donegal, Bacik said “the overarching legitimacy” of the United Nations should be respected by Ireland.
“No other entity has the legitimacy, the authority and the incredible record of the UN. And of course the Security Council veto is problematic, and of course there are lots of efforts under way to reform that. But what is the alternative?
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“The alternative to the UN is a return to that disorder, the fracture, the chaos, the carnage of the war that some leaders would like us to return to. So I would say, let’s defend the UN.
“This is a time where Ireland needs to stand firm, defend the United Nations, and not be seen to undermine multilateralism in the name of trying to do away with the triple lock,” she went on.
However, former Army Ranger and Independent TD Cathal Berry said neutrality has not served Ireland’s Defence Forces well, leaving it demoralised and badly funded and leaving the State defenceless, not neutral.
During an often-impassioned debate, Berry pointed to the sight of a French Navy frigate in Dublin Bay offering protection for the launch last week of Ireland’s Council of the European Union presidency. Irish sailors on Naval Service vessels in Dublin Bay would have had “absolutely no means to protect themselves whatsoever” if they had faced attacks of any kind during that operation.
“That is not normal,” said Berry.
“The machine guns on our ships are 50 years old. That’s five-zero. And they were purchased second-hand deliberately from the Germans to make it value for money,” he said.
Last December, police from Portugal, France and the United Kingdom were “guarding our Government buildings and our national parliament because, not because we asked them, because we were incapable of doing it ourselves”.
Berry said: “We’re not a neutral country. We’re a defenceless country. We’re the international equivalent of a demilitarised zone. That’s totally fine if you’re living in a pacified world.”
However, the world is a dangerous place, said Berry, who now works for the public affairs company Red Flag. “We should have made prudent, sensible precautions to safeguard our country, just like we would at home.”
Homeowners close their doors and windows at night, or have alarms, said Berry, who said the focus should not be on whether the State gets rid of the triple lock on deploying soldiers abroad and instead should focus on defence spending.
[ Martin tells Fianna Fáil meeting triple-lock Bill will be deferred until autumnOpens in new window ]
Ireland has no primary radar, “so if a pilot flicks off his transponder or her transponder, we can’t detect them landing or travelling through Irish airspace. Not only can we not see what’s happening in Irish airspace, we can’t do anything about it.”
Irish soldiers had to withdraw from a United Nations-sanctioned European Union mission in the Mediterranean this month because Russia would not approve. “We are seen as unreliable peacekeepers,” said Berry.
In four months’ time, Ireland’s place in the decades-old UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon will have to be brought to end, because Russian and US support for the mission will not be forthcoming.
