An Taoiseach, Mr. Micheál Martin TD

Department of the Taoiseach

Government Buildings

Merrion Street

Dublin 2

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A Thaoisigh,

On behalf of the undersigned academics and university workers we write to reiterate our deep concern at the Government’s efforts to remove the State’s ‘Triple Lock’ on the deployment of the Irish Defence Forces overseas.

One year ago, a letter signed by over 400 academics and university workers was sent to your office expressing alarm over the cabinet’s decision to approve the scrapping of Ireland’s Triple Lock. The Triple Lock ensures that Ireland can only deploy more than twelve Irish troops overseas to peacekeeping missions when those missions have received a UN mandate. In other words, the Triple Lock guarantees that troop deployment may only take place under the auspices of the UN system, as a guarantor of international peace and security, and in line with international law.

Since that letter, the 2025 Defence (Amendment) Bill has passed through pre-legislative scrutiny and is due before the Dáil imminently. At the same time, we have witnessed a dramatic deterioration in the global geopolitical situation, with deepening and expanding conflict and the continued erosion of international law and multilateral institutions. It is in this context that we write to you again, urging you to reconsider your government’s plans to remove the Triple Lock. We also appeal to you to play a more active role in promoting the values enshrined in the UN Charter and our constitution, values reflected in the Triple Lock.

In the past three months alone, we have seen the United States carry out illegal attacks on Venezuela and Iran, threaten to invade Greenland, and escalate a devastating and illegal embargo on Cuba. During this same period we have also seen the President of the United States establish the so-called ‘Board of Peace’ to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza outside the structures of multilateral diplomacy and without the involvement of Palestinian representatives, whilst withdrawing funding from 66 international organizations, including 31 UN entities, working on climate, health, and immigration. The United States has also recently announced the withdrawal of funding to the International Fund for Ireland, which has been central to supporting the peace process on this island for the last 40 years.

France and the UK have also now become involved in the illegal war on Iran, claiming ‘self-defence’ against Iranian aggression. From an Irish perspective, what is most concerning is the lack of firm clarity in Minister Helen McEntee's initial response, and the incomprehensible delay in addressing what should have been clear from the start. This despite an early statement by the UN Secretary General clarifying that the US-Israeli attack was in contravention of the UN Charter which prohibits “the threat of the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.” It is worth contrasting the equivocating response of your government to the attacks on Iran with those of the Spanish. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has now barred the US from using its military bases for conducting its illegal war on Iran. Meanwhile, Ireland hides behind the ambiguous label of ‘militarily neutral’ while continuing to allow Shannon airport to be used by US warplanes, including for operations against Iran according to recent reports.

Your Government claims that in the absence of the Triple Lock, overseas troop deployments would remain in line with international law. But given the Government's response to recent events, it is far from clear that this would be the case. This really is the crux of the issue. Removing the Triple Lock is not about reclaiming sovereignty, as your Government has suggested. It is rather about abandoning the Irish State’s long-held commitment to the United Nations and international law. The 2025 Defence (Amendment) Bill would allow for the government to send Irish Defence Forces on missions led by the EU, OSCE, or “any other regional arrangement or body.” As various expert witnesses appearing at the Joint Oireachtas committee in July confirmed, this opens the door to Irish troops taking part in operations that will be led by, or otherwise involve, NATO. This would enact a fundamental transformation in the State’s foreign policy at a time of historic geopolitical tension and heightened conflict.

In your capacity as opposition leader, you described the Triple Lock as being “at the core of our neutrality”. Similarly, you acknowledged that although “the United Nations is not working as it should...we must not abandon it as an essential part of the international system”. As this international system comes under unprecedented strain and attack, why are you abandoning it by removing the legislative cornerstone of the State’s involvement in UN peacekeeping since 1960? If Ireland deploys troops on EU or NATO missions that do not have a UN mandate, it may quickly find itself in direct conflict with the world’s most powerful armies, some of which have nuclear warheads at their disposal. For us, it seems clear that the benefits of operating within the UN system, while maintaining an independent, neutral policy, far outweigh the risks associated with operating outside it.

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. We urge you to use this moment to re-affirm Ireland’s commitment to international law and the institutions of multilateral diplomacy, not just by retaining the Triple Lock, but by speaking out against obvious breaches of the UN Charter and efforts to diminish the operations of the UN. These institutions are far from perfect but they emerged as a direct response to the catastrophic world wars of the last century and they remain the most important bulwark against another breaking out.

Given the extremely concerning geopolitical developments of the past twelve months, and indeed since the beginning of this year, we believe there is even more onus on the Government to protect Ireland’s policy of neutrality. Since the foundation of the State, Ireland has upheld its constitutional commitment to the peaceful resolution of international conflicts. Ireland’s neutrality has kept the State out of international conflicts and protected it from attack. Crucially however, this policy has also been about ensuring the State plays a full and active part in the promotion of international law, multilateral diplomacy, and the peaceful resolution of conflict. Ireland has a strong tradition in this regard, championing peace initiatives even when doing so meant challenging the interests of the world’s most powerful states. Ireland’s neutrality has served it well, earning it credibility and legitimacy on the global sphere as an honest diplomatic broker, and a respected peace-maker, a reputation that the people of Ireland are justly proud of.

Successive opinion polls demonstrate remarkably consistent popular support amongst the Irish population for maintaining Ireland’s current policy of neutrality. Over the past year, we have seen several grassroots initiatives in different parts of the country campaigning for retaining the Triple Lock. As part of this effort, 13 councils across the island have passed a motion to this effect. Significantly, councillors from your own Party have voted to support the motion, citing their moral conscience and a responsibility to future generations. This, coupled with the fact that two referendums in support of the Nice and Lisbon Treaties were carried on the basis of the Triple Lock, points to the fact that your Government has no mandate to revoke the Triple Lock. On the contrary, in a healthy democracy, the government would transform such overwhelming popular support into concrete action by holding a referendum to enshrine neutrality in the Irish constitution. Just last month, a poll by the Irish Times found that 71% of respondents were in favour of this, a considerable majority.

Such overwhelming support for neutrality should not come as a surprise. At a time when the world appears to be on the brink of global war and a potential nuclear catastrophe, we urgently need global leaders to courageously face down illegal wars and redouble their commitment to peace, international law, and genuine multilateralism. Protecting the Triple Lock would send a message to the Irish people and the global community that Ireland intends to do precisely that.

We finish with the words of Frank Aiken, a leading member of your Party, speaking at the UN in 1957. Aiken spoke at a time of heightened geopolitical tensions similar to now, as the Cold War unfolded across Eastern Europe, West Asia, and the Caribbean. His words remind us that active neutrality involves sacrifice and leadership, not self-interest and passivity.

“The achievement of peace based on law requires positive but limited sacrifices, which may not eventually be forthcoming, but which it is our duty to seek, each according to his ability and influence, and to seek without fear or favour. It may be said that such projects are visionary. Perhaps they are, but those who like to use that word to describe any far-reaching suggestion for peace would be well advised to keep another vision before their eyes: a vision of what the third world war would mean for mankind."

Is sinne, le meas

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