IF truth be told the long-standing claim of neutrality by the southern Irish state is not all it’s made out to be. It is a fact that successive Irish governments have turned a blind eye to American war planes using Shannon as a stopping-off point for attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as carrying munitions to Israel for its genocidal war against the people of Palestine. US planes carrying political prisoners to interrogation and detention sites, where they were tortured, stopped at Shannon to refuel. A breach of international law. The government did nothing.
In recent months a significant and increasing number of articles have been published in the mainstream Dublin-based media claiming that neutrality was fine in the past but is not fit for purpose in the world today. It is ‘morally degenerate’ wrote one writer. Getting rid of neutrality would make the Irish state appear more ‘grown-up’ said another. The language has become increasingly belligerent as the demand is made for a substantial increase in spending on weapons and for the Irish government to join the NATO alliance.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael representatives have especially echoed this demand and are content to become part of a system that would send young Irish men and women go off to fight and die in wars far from their home. To achieve this the Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael-led government is proposing that it abandon the ‘triple lock’ system which up to now has determined when and where Irish troops can be deployed overseas. The triple lock came into effect in 2001, after the defeat of the Nice Treaty referendum. It was widely accepted that the loss of the first Nice Treaty referendum was due to public concern that the Treaty would subvert Irish neutrality and lead to Irish soldiers participating in a future European Army.
The other EU States accepted that Irish participation in any EU military operation would require three authorisations. The first of the three triple lock requirements involves the Government, through the Cabinet, giving its backing for troop deployment. The second step is a successful motion in the Dáil. And the third lock requires the backing of the UN Security Council for sending Irish troops overseas.
The second Nice Treaty referendum was subsequently passed.
In 2023 Micheál Martin indicated that the government was examining ways of amending the triple lock mechanism. At the beginning of this month, Fine Gael leader Simon Harris won Cabinet approval to ‘reform’ the triple lock. The proposal is that the Cabinet and the Dáil would still have to agree to any military deployment but the third authorisation would now fall to a regional organisation, such as the EU.
Around 400 university and academic staff from across the state immediately wrote to the Taoiseach warning that ending the current triple lock requirements “will significantly weaken its (the Irish state’s) commitment to the UN system, UN peacekeeping and multilateralism.” They pointed to the fact that this comes at a time when the UN faces unprecedented challenges “particularly in the context of Israel’s genocidal war on Palestine... it is easy to be neutral in times of peace. The real test, and where it matters most, is being neutral in times of war and heightened conflict.”
Two years ago an Irish Times/Ipsos opinion poll found that the overwhelming majority of citizens – 61% – wanted to retain the current model of neutrality. In an opinion poll in early February for Ireland Thinks 75% said Yes to Ireland maintaining the current policy, 17% said No' and 7% were Not Sure. The popular mood is for neutrality, but the actions of President Trump on the one hand and of President Putin on the other are creating uncertainty and fear.
Add to this the decision by the EU to spend over €800 billion on armaments while allowing EU states to breach EU rules on spending and we have a recipe for a growing crisis in which the only winners are the arms manufacturers.
I believe that a policy of positive neutrality and of enshrining it within the constitution is the best way forward. That means not joining any military alliances. We should refuse to condone policies or military groupings which maintain nuclear weapons and any weapons of mass destruction. And we should refuse to facilitate international conflict in any way.
It means working for international cooperation and conflict negotiation, democratic social change and respect for human rights. It means working for universal demilitarisation and nuclear disarmament.
The peace process has enhanced our international standing. Our role in the United Nations, our status as a small state and former colony, mean that we are widely respected, especially in the global south. That status was a key factor several years ago in persuading many former colonised nations to support the Irish Government’s place on the UN Security Council.
Spending billions on armaments, including fighter jets, is wrong, especially at a time when there is a housing crisis and money is urgently needed for health, education and other public services. The Irish Government should be pursuing an independent foreign policy while promoting dialogue and negotiations as the way to resolve international disputes. The world does not need another overly-armed European state joining the clamour for bigger and better weapons.
Irish Government pandering to Netanyahu needs to stop
LAST week An Taoiseach Micheál Martin is reported to have told an Israeli lobby group in New York that the Occupied Territories Bill is not on the legislative calendar. He is sticking rigidly to the line that there are constitutional difficulties that require the Bill to be significantly redrafted. The end result of this prevarication is that the Occupied Territories Bill remains in limbo.
While Micheál Martin stonewalls meaningful action against Israel that state’s genocide against the Palestinian people is unrelenting. Israel has clearly breached the January ceasefire multiple times. Monday’s bombing of tents in the Gaza rubble have claimed the lives of around 400, man of them women and children..
For almost three weeks now Israel has imposed a blockade on desperately needed aid from entering the devastated region. It has also turned off Gaza’s electricity, preventing the desalination plants from providing water for the besieged residents of the Strip.
CARNAGE: While the Occupied Territories Bill remains in limbo, Gaza suffering goes on
The extent of Israel’s genocidal strategy was further revealed last week when the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory published a damning report accusing Israel of using sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence against Palestinians. The Commission found that these acts “violate women’s and girls’ reproductive rights and autonomy, as well as their right to life, health, founding a family, human dignity, physical and mental integrity, freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, and self-determination and the principle of non-discrimination.” These amount to two categories of genocidal acts in the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention.
The Irish Government has to stop pandering to the Benjamin Netanyahu government and uphold international standards on human rights and self-determination. A start would include the passing into law of the Occupied Territories Bill.
The full report of the UN Commission can be found at www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session58/a-hrc-58-crp-6.pdf
ST Patrick’s Day was another opportunity for the Irish people and diaspora to celebrate being Irish. In some parts of the world St Patrick’s Day morphs into a week of celebrations. I hope you enjoyed your St. Patrick’s Day/week wherever you were.
This year Friends of Sinn Féin (FoSF) published an advertisement in several US-based newspapers, including the New York Times, urging Irish America to speak out on the right of the diaspora to vote in Irish Presidential elections and called on the Irish Government to prepare for Irish unity.
In a message to government Ministers visiting the USA for St Patrick’s, the FoSF advert said: “Irish America believes that the Irish Government has a constitutional obligation to plan for the unity referendums promised in the Good Friday Agreement. It is failing to meet that obligation... It is time to respect the rights of all Irish citizens to elect the Irish President.
“It is time the Irish Government planned and prepared for unity.”
They are right.
