D’fhógair an Tánaiste inné go raibh sé i gceist aige deireadh a chur le ceann de na príomhchosaintí a bhaineann le neodracht na tíre seo, sé sin, go mbeadh tacaíocht ag na Fórsaí Cosanta ón UN do na misin a bhfuil siad gníomhach iontu. Déanfaidh sé seo damáiste do neodracht na tíre seo, nó neodracht na hÉireann, agus níl tacaíocht ann ó mhuintir na hÉireann fá choinne seo:

The current policy works and it has complete popular legitimacy. There is no reason whatsoever to change it. Such a change will impress no one in Europe and it will contribute nothing to international peace. Instead of sniping at our neutrality, the Government should acknowledge what we have achieved because of it and set out a policy to strengthen rather than to undermine it.

Those are the Tánaiste's words spoken in response to the then Fine Gael Minister's attempt to adopt a long-term ambition of Fine Gael to undermine Irish neutrality by removing the protection that underpins it, the triple lock. The Tánaiste rightly stated in response:

Fine Gael is arguing that Ireland is failing in its European responsibilities and is allowing Russia and China to have a veto over our peacekeeping activities. This is nothing more than an out-of-touch ideological obsession on the part of Fine Gael which ignores the facts of Ireland’s international standing.

It is clear now that the Tánaiste has now adopted Fine Gael's out-of-touch ideological obsession. He may argue that things have changed and indeed some things have changed. What has changed is the inability of our Defence Forces to carry out the role that gave Ireland the international standing that he once lauded as a result of the failures of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in government.

Irish soldiers have been part of a UN peacekeeping mission in the Golan Heights, important work for our Defence Forces, and they have been rightly commended on their bravery and their commitment. Ireland is set to withdraw from that peacekeeping mission not at the behest of Russians or Chinese or any external government, but because of an Irish Government. Today there are just 7,600 members across all services of our Defence Forces, a complete scandal and well below the establishment figure of 9,600 or indeed the target of 11,500. Under the Tánaiste's watch more members of the Defence Forces are leaving each year than are being recruited.

Instead of addressing these problems the Tánaiste wants to abandon decades of Irish foreign policy of military neutrality by abolishing the triple lock, an intention he made clear to the Dáil last night. Not once did he specify the missions he wants Irish troops to participate in and from which they are currently precluded. Maybe he will outline some of those missions in his response. There was no consideration from him as to what this will mean for Ireland's international standing if we were to send troops abroad on military missions that do not have the legitimacy of a UN mandate.

The triple lock is a core protection of Irish neutrality. It is there to address the real and legitimate concerns of the Irish people regarding the drag into an EU military framework. It is not just me saying this; this was the great sell of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in advocating for the Lisbon and Nice treaties in separate referendums. Without this guarantee of the triple lock of Irish neutrality protection, it is highly likely that those referendums would not have passed. Therefore, if the Tánaiste is so convinced of undermining Irish neutrality and ending the triple lock, he should do the honourable thing, the democratic thing, and put this fundamental shift of foreign policy, which he announced yesterday and which removes assurances previously given, to the Irish people. He should put it directly to the electorate and let us see if he has a mandate to do what he announced yesterday.

It was the Fianna Fáil Party that introduced military neutrality during the Second World War. The only party in this House that sought to actively undermine the Irish policy of military neutrality during the Second World War was the Sinn Féin Party. That party's leader erected a statue to Seán Russell who collaborated with the German Nazis. That is Sinn Féin's history of its commitment to military neutrality. Those are facts. They erected a statue and honoured the person who actively sought to undermine Eamon de Valera's policy of military neutrality. I take no lectures from the Deputy in respect of our commitment to military neutrality.

What Sinn Féin has classically done here now again and what it does all the time in the realm of foreign policy is to create strawmen all over the place, create false premises, dishonest debate and active disinformation. The Deputy starts his presentation by saying we are out to undermine Irish military neutrality.

Those were your words.

We are not in any shape or form-----

I was quoting you. Those words were your words.

I did not interrupt the Deputy, please allow me the courtesy of responding to his points.

I was just quoting you back.

Deputy Doherty is helping you.

I cannot claim credit for them.

Tánaiste, we will hold the clock for a minute.

I cannot claim credit for your words.

Deputy, I am holding the clock to allow for order to resume. Please allow the Tánaiste to speak uninterrupted.

There is no proposal and there will be no legislative proposal to come before this House to undermine our policy of military neutrality. We have made that crystal clear. We are not members of a military alliance. We are not joining NATO. There is no proposal to join NATO as the Deputy knows well because he slipped in his remarks that we want to participate in a European - I think he said - military framework. That is what he just said.

I did not say that either.

It is more dishonesty because, of course, we know Article 29.4.9° of the Constitution, which we put in in 2002 and reaffirmed in 2009, states: "The State shall not adopt a decision taken by the European Council to establish a common defence pursuant to Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union where that common defence would include the State." Therefore, we cannot, without a constitutional referendum, participate in any EU common defence pact. The Deputy should not set out false stories here.

I did not say that.

The triple lock does not critically underpin our policy of military neutrality. It is essentially about the deployment of troops overseas. Why do we want to change it? Why do I want to amend it? It is because I do not believe that Russia, China or the United Kingdom or for that matter the United States or France should dictate Irish foreign policy or should dictate when we do or do not deploy troops.

You are the one removing our troops from UN missions.

The world has changed fundamentally. The UN Security Council could not even issue a statement on the invasion of Ukraine. We all know about the late Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner Group. Russia is more interested now in deploying the Wagner Group to parts of the Sahel or other parts of the globe instead of any UN peacekeepers. That is the reality of where we are today. However, of course, Sinn Féin has had a history of being soft on Russia down through the years.

All deleted now.

It supported Russia when it invaded Crimea in 2014. I was in this House and Sinn Féin's silence was clear to all. In fact, it sent people to international conferences supporting Russia's invasion of Crimea and going along with the Russian propaganda that there were neo-Nazis in Ukraine. The Deputy did that. That was Sinn Féin's position in 2014 and it got away with it.

That is not true.

Sinn Féin could not get away with it in the current crisis in terms of the war. Its whole foreign policy has been one of incoherence and incompetence. Ní aontaím leis an Teachta. Tá sé mícheart. Níl aon deacracht in aon chor ó thaobh an pholasaí atá againn ó thaobh neodracht mhíleata. Ní bheidh aon athrú ann. Caithfidh mé é sin a chur os comhair an Teachta.

It is desperate stuff from the Tánaiste. I know it is difficult to hear his own words back when Fine Gael tried to do exactly what he is doing and he talked about this ideological nonsense. He talked about undermining Irish neutrality: "Fianna Fáil reaffirms its commitment to the retention of the Triple Lock... prior to committing Defence Forces personnel on overseas service." Those are the words of the Fianna Fáil 2020 general election manifesto, now gone with the wind. "The Government will ensure that all overseas operations will be conducted in line with our position of military neutrality and will be subject to a triple lock of UN, Government and Dáil Éireann approval." That is from the programme for Government agreed between Fianna Fáil, the Green Party and Fine Gael. "[T]here is presently no appetite for a change to the current position on Irish neutrality". That is from the report of the chair of the consultative forum that the Tánaiste hoped would provide a preordained move to fundamentally change a foreign policy that has served Ireland well.

The Tánaiste has no mandate from this. He can scratch the bottom the barrel all he wants. I am talking about the future. I am talking about the missions that do not have a UN mandate to which he wants to deploy Irish troops. I am saying to him that he does not have a mandate for that. He never campaigned for that. The programme for Government did not state that. If the Tánaiste is secure in his position, he should put it to the people in a referendum and let them decide whether they want to undermine our neutrality or not.

There was absolutely no policy to undermine our military neutrality. The Deputy should stop deliberately creating a false story. The bottom line is this. The Deputy seems to have a view that Russia should dictate our foreign policy.

No, I do not.

You are. That is exactly what you are saying. We know the-----

What mission?

What mission?

Through the Chair, I think-----

Tánaiste, shush please. Can we do this through the Chair, please? Can we listen please?

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, when you say, "can we do it through the Chair", I have been doing it consistently through the Chair.

We are asking a question.

I have been interrupted repeatedly by Deputy Doherty------

-----and this has happened every week now. This is happening every week.

Tánaiste, the clock is now running again.

Suing journalists, shouting down the Members of Parliament.

Who is interrupting now?

Deputy, please.

Welcome to the Sinn Féin world.

Minister.

Suing journalists.

The core values of Fianna Fáil are coming out.

I believe-----

That is it.

I want to make the point-----

No, sorry. We are not going to have this sniping across the floor. I will resume my seat and we will listen to the Tánaiste uninterrupted.

I believe there is something morally wrong with the fact that an authoritarian and aggressive neo-imperialist power has a de facto veto on elements of how we as an independent Republic react to any given situation. That is the fundamental truth of where we are today. They invaded Ukraine, they violated the UN Charter and the Deputy is saying that they should have a veto over how, when and where we deploy our troops.

That is not what we are saying.

That is the essence of the Sinn Féin policy, which I reject and oppose. Finally-----

Which mission do you want to move on without a UN mandate?

-----anything we do-----

You cannot even give an example.

Deputy, please. Tánaiste, tá muid thar ama.

Give us one example.

Anything we do-----

Why will you not answer the question?

Tánaiste, tá muid thar ama.

Anything we do will be utterly consistent with the UN Charter and the upholding of UN fundamental rights.

Which mission in the last five years would you like to deploy using Irish troops without a UN mandate?

Sin é.