Poll shows extensive support for Ireland's neutrality
The result of the poll comes as talks to form a government are reported to include plans by Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin (left) and Taoiseach Simon Harris (right) to abandon the so-called Triple Lock mechanism. File photo: Sasko Lazarov / © RollingNews.ie
An overwhelming number of people say Ireland should maintain its current policy on neutrality, according to a poll commissioned by the campaigning platform Uplift.
The result of the poll comes as talks to form a government are reported to include plans by Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin and Taoiseach Simon Harris to abandon the so-called Triple Lock mechanism.
The triple lock is used to describe the three steps that Ireland must go through before more than 12 members of the Defence Forces are sent abroad on missions, such as peacekeeping exercises. The first is a Government sign-off, the second is Dáil approval, and the third is authorisation from the UN Security Council.
The two party leaders believe the mechanism hands the five permanent members of the UN Security Council a veto over how and where Ireland decides where to deploy Irish troops.
Those who want the mechanism maintained as it is fear it will see Ireland moving closer to joining in the current “war frenzy” around the world, an Uplift webinar heard.
Just over 1,200 people were polled by the polling company Ireland Thinks, and 75% said ‘yes’ to Ireland maintaining the current policy, 17% said 'no' and 7% were 'not sure'.
More people who identified as Fine Gael voters were among those who said ‘no’. They amounted to 29% of 'no' voters while 18% of Fianna Fáil voters said ‘no’. The poll was announced at Uplift’s webinar on Tuesday.
Proceedings were suspended for five minutes while people attending were given the opportunity to call the head offices of both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to voice their concerns about proposals to change Ireland’s Triple Lock.
Speaking at the webinar were co-chair of the Irish Anti-War Movement, Mark Price, and programme co-ordinator for war and pacification at the Transnational Institute, Niamh Ní Bhriain.
She said: “The government has decided to push this through, hoping that either people will lose interest along the way, or they'll be so overwhelmed or lost in the nitty gritty of what the Triple Lock is. There's no good argument for getting rid of it.
“As a small nation like Ireland, we will never have the capacity to defend ourselves. If we want to get into that game and increase our military capacity, you are looking at spending billions and trillions of dollars in order to play catch-up with the other military powers.
“Defending ourselves militarily will be absolutely catastrophic, we will be wiped out. Our best defence is to not become involved in a war in the first place and the best way of doing that is to remain neutral."
