Committee calls for clarity on Government proposals to change triple lock

Further safeguards and clarity are needed in the Government’s draft laws to change Ireland’s system for deploying troops abroad, a committee has recommended.

The Joint Committee on Defence and National Security published a report on the Government’s proposals to change the “triple lock”, which is the requirement for Government, Dail and UN approval to send more than 12 Irish soldiers overseas.

The Government is looking to remove the need for UN approval for such missions removed and replaced with a stipulation that the Defence Forces deployment would be in accordance with the UN Charter and international law.

The Government has argued this will prevent the permanent members of the UN Security Council – Russia, China, the UK, the US and France – from vetoing Irish peacekeeping missions.

Critics see it as an erosion of Irish neutrality and a move towards European militarisation.

Chairwoman of the cross-party committee Rose Conway-Walsh said there was a split on whether the triple lock affected Ireland’s neutrality, which she described as “the major concern” with the Bill.

“That’s where there was a direct conflict between the opposition parties and the Government parties,” she said.

“So the opposition parties were very concerned about the impact that the removal the triple lock would have on Irish neutrality, while the Government parties thought that it wouldn’t have any impact.”

The Government’s Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025 also looks to expand on the basis for Irish soldiers being dispatched outside the State.

In its report published on Wednesday, the committee makes 27 recommendations asking for further safeguards or clarity on the draft changes.

This includes a call to define what “strengthening international security” means in the context of the Bill, which Ms Conway Walsh said was “ambiguous”.

The committee’s report recommended that the legislation should specify that the phrase will not include the taking part in missions where cluster munitions or anti-personnel mines are used and better define the phrase.

“The Joint Committee recommends that the legislation potentially explore definitions for how the terms ‘conflict prevention’ and ‘strengthening international security’ will be interpreted in Ireland and outline clear parameters and safeguards for deployment in these cases,” it said.

It also recommended that “at minimum” an independent legal review should be carried out before Irish troops are deployed abroad with an international force.

The findings should be made available to Oireachtas members, and a version “redacted where necessary” is made public.

The committee also recommends that the proposals to increase the number of Irish troops allowed to be deployed without Dail approval from 12 to 50, should include “at a minimum, oversight provisions” from two committees: defence and foreign affairs.

Ireland has been taking part in UN peacekeeping missions since 1958 and the triple lock has been in place since 1960.

“There isn’t an explicit recommendation to remove the triple lock and I think that’s important,” Ms Conway-Walsh said.