Did the Cabinet agree this morning to press ahead with abolishing the triple lock without holding a referendum? If it did, why is the Taoiseach reneging on the promises he personally made to the Irish people in order to get the Nice and Lisbon treaties passed?

It now seems crystal clear, despite the Tánaiste promising me just last September that alternative safeguards would be introduced, that there will be no safeguards whatsoever to ensure our soldiers can only be sent on genuine peacekeeping missions. Has the Government rejected the all-party recommendation of the Oireachtas committee for a formal legal review to be carried out before Irish troops are sent into harm's way without UN approval? Under the new laws, the State could have sent troops to fight in Iraq. It would be able to send troops to fight and die for Trump wherever he decides to if it decides to go along with it.

I thank the Deputy. The time is up.

Instead of the Taoiseach taking these life-and-death decisions, why does he not allow the people to decide in a referendum?

The Taoiseach to respond. If the Deputy goes over the 60 seconds-----

He should make his arguments and we will make ours, and let the people decide in a referendum.

It is an absolutely ridiculous suggestion. We have a very honourable and proud peacekeeping reputation in this country. All Government parties are absolutely committed to that peacekeeping tradition. It is because of that tradition that we need to change the law. We cannot have Russia dictating when we enter a peacekeeping mission or not. That is the actual truth of it. The Deputy wants Russia, the US, China and the other P5 members to have a veto on when Ireland participates in peacekeeping.

I want the people to decide.

The Security Council has been paralysed for over two decades now. The situation has changed utterly. Where a country invades a European country, just as Russia has invaded Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of young people, the devastation of civilian infrastructure, the destruction of energy infrastructure, and the freezing of the people, the Deputy is saying it should have a veto on where our peacekeepers should go. Cop on.

I thank the Taoiseach. I call Deputy Michael Collins. The Taoiseach's time is up.

I am saying the people should have a right to decide.

That is enough, Deputy Murphy. I call Deputy Collins.

Why will the Taoiseach not give the people a referendum?