Should the Triple Lock be scrapped?
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk. With Aviva Insurance.
Now the Cabinet will today discuss whether to unpick Ireland's triple lock. As Minister for Defence Helen McEntee brings her amendments to the Defence Bill to her colleagues this morning. Is this really a good idea? Well Niall Collins is with us, Minister of State for Agriculture and Fianna Fáil TD for Limerick County and he joins me now as does Sinead Gibney, Social Democrats TD for Dublin, Wrathdown and you're both welcome to the programme. Sinead I'll come to you first. You say that ending the triple lock will be the final nail in the coffin for Ireland's neutrality. Why is that?
And so the triple lock is even the triple lock is a bit of a misnomer because the government is trying to say that the triple lock will become a double lock.
What is Ireland's Triple Lock and why is it being discussed?
But actually, the government, the triple lock just basically provides for us an external arbiter to ensure that our peacekeeping activities remain under the mandate of the UN, under the blue helmet, the blue beret. It's been a long tradition for us.
But this is what I don't understand about this argument, because, you know, we have the Security Council, the permanent members of the UN, who will not allow us to do what we have done in the past. America, China and Russia. So why do we want to be beholden to that decision making process?
Nobody in the opposition is saying that the UN doesn't need reform. And we want our government to engage in that reform. We want the Security Council and the veto and all of the issues that stem from that to be dealt with. But that's not what this government is doing. Like, first and foremost, the triple lock can be satisfied by the General Assembly of the UN. And our government has not tried. So they talk a lot about the veto and even the chilling effect of the veto before the veto is even used. But they do not try and go to the General Assembly to try and resolve it. For me, like the UN provides for us a multilateral approach to our foreign policy, which cannot be given or granted or satisfied by any other body.
That's what the UN is there for.
But you're wistfully hoping and praying that the world hasn't changed fundamentally, like the UN has completely changed.
But the UN was established at a time of immense global conflict. So people talk a lot now about we are in a period of increased global volatility. That is what the UN was born from. And it said that when we act in regional blocs with our own self-interests at regional level, we will enter into world wars. And you know who are going to be the worst affected by that is smaller nations. And that's why we set up a global order to essentially rise above that and provide for a multilateral, world and that's what we're leaving behind if we lose the triple lock.
How does ending the Triple Lock affect Ireland's neutrality?
Let's bring in Niall Collins on this because people will remember back at the time of the second Lisbon Treaty vote Niall that the triple lock was really leaned on as an absolute guarantee of our neutrality now you say it has nothing to do with our neutrality so you can see why people feel discombobulated.
That's true, but the world has changed radically since then. We've had no new peacekeeping missions mandated since 2014. And really, the whole geopolitical scenario has altered the whole decision-making process. I think it's right to remove the triple lock. I think people have to trust our government. They have to trust the members of Dáil Éireann. And the legislation, when it is enacted over the coming weeks, will also ensure that any future peacekeeping missions, that it does adhere to the principles and the ideals within the United Nations Charter and indeed within international law. So I think we have to be mature about it. We have to be able to trust ourselves. Unfortunately, the five Parliament members, as we know, just cannot be relied upon.
They even vetoed a resolution recently calling for a full and final ceasefire within Gaza. So, you know, this is how serious it is.
But Sinead says that Ireland hasn't pushed this. You know, you haven't pushed the mechanism where you take this to the General Assembly.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:45
2
What is Ireland's Triple Lock and why is it being discussed?
0:45–2:31
3
How does ending the Triple Lock affect Ireland's neutrality?
2:31–5:24
4
What are the implications of a 'double lock' on peacekeeping missions?
5:24–7:46
5
Why do some believe the government should trust the UN more?
7:46–10:13
6
What are the arguments for and against the removal of the Triple Lock?
10:13–11:49
7
How has the geopolitical landscape changed since the Triple Lock's introduction?
11:49–14:23
8
What safeguards does the government propose for future military actions?
14:23–16:18