Ireland Paves Way to Potential Peacekeeping Mission in Ukraine

Ireland has secured Cabinet approval on Tuesday to scrap the country’s “triple lock” mechanism to deploy troops overseas.

The proposal came after Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin reportedly signaled an openness to deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine upon meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 28.

The “triple lock” mechanism means that Ireland requires approval from the government, the legislative chamber Dáil, and the UN Security Council to deploy more than 12 Irish troops overseas.

The new proposal, now being introduced to the wider chamber, consists of a “double lock” mechanism that removes UN Security Council approval, as Russia has veto power there.

It also sought to increase the number of troops that could be deployed without these approvals from 12 to 50.

Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Simon Harris said the proposal would “reinforce Ireland’s ability to pursue an independent foreign policy by removing the power of UN Security Council permanent members to veto our national sovereign decisions,” The Irish Independent reported.

“We don’t believe that [Russian leader Vladimir] Putin or other leaders should have a veto on whether our troops can be deployed. That’s why I’m pleased to secure government approval today to reform the Triple Lock,” he added.

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The proposal also followed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Sunday call for a “coalition of the willing” of nations to jointly provide long-term security guarantees for Ukraine, including troop deployments.

However, an Irish lawmaker has raised concerns that the change could eliminate Ireland’s neutrality.

“Fundamentally what this will mean is... the government of the day will be in a position to deploy Irish troops to any mission that they wish, to any location that they wish, provided they have a majority. We believe that causes significant risk to our neutrality,” Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, the spokesperson on foreign affairs for Ireland’s main opposition Sinn Féin, told national broadcaster RTE.

That said, Laoghaire said Sinn Féin would keep an open mind if Irish troops are to join a UN-led peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, RTE reported.