Notion that our neutrality is widely respected abroad is an Irish self-delusion, writes Stephen Collins
The triple lock had its origins in the rules devised to cover the deployment of Irish troops to the Congo in 1960 as part of a UN peacekeeping mission. It was subsequently updated in 2002 after the Irish people rejected the Nice Treaty following spurious claims that it involved the creation of a European Army.
Opposition parties, primarily Sinn Féin and People Before Profit, have opposed the battle groups, which are designed for humanitarian missions, arguing they are part of a slippery slope towards a pan-European army and membership of Nato. Before the invasion of Ukraine, these same political groups often seemed slow to criticise Vladimir Putin’s Russia and happy to denounce Nato.
The triple lock is not part of the Constitution, and was updated by legislation in 2006, so there is nothing to prevent it being refined again to allow the deployment of a significant number of troops or, better again, to abolish it altogether. The very least our neighbours, who showed such solidarity with us over Brexit, expect is that we will face up to the need to defend ourselves
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