I too thank Deputy Stanley for bringing forward this motion this morning. My position is clear: the triple lock is sacrosanct. Ireland's policy on neutrality is equally sacrosanct and remains a vital cornerstone of our approach to defence and international engagement. I too compliment our peacekeepers who have worked all over the world in very dangerous situations over the decades. Following the initial rejection of the Nice treaty, the Government gave explicit assurances to the Irish people ahead of the second referendum. These assurances included the Seville Declarations on the Treaty of Nice which safeguarded Irish neutrality and incorporated a requirement for UN authorisation in the triple lock. That was a promise made to the people. Do we have any respect for what the people were promised? We seem not to. To remove this requirement now would represent the reversal of a commitment made to the Irish people in 2002. Therefore, any proposal to replace it with a broader or alternative international mandate should most definitely be put to the Irish people. The people are sacrosanct and sovereign here, and they should make the decision. It is often portrayed in media coverage that there is strong public support for maintaining the triple lock. The majority of the Irish people believe in preserving this safeguard. As a sovereign nation, it is the Irish people who should decide whether such a fundamental change is made. The Government argues that a referendum is neither required nor necessary because it is afraid of a referendum and the people. The Taoiseach, Deputy Martin, went on a roadshow some years ago to Cork, Donegal and God knows where else – it was a nice ready-up with a hand-picked chairperson - to try to ready the people for change. It is a democratic decision of the people and nothing else. Failure to recognise or act on principles suggests two things. The first is that the Government may lack confidence that the electorate would support its position and the second is that it is unwilling to allow people to have their say on an issue of such great importance to the Irish people. I listened to much of the debate. The Opposition is in unison as regards the position. The Government should listen to that and take heed of democratic accountability to this House.

Sentiment score: 0.28