Former peacekeeper says it is wrong for minister to call for Triple Lock removal 

Generic Stock Defence Forces, action, training, soldiers, Air Corps (UJuly 2020)

The former head of the country’s largest military representative association says health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is wrong to suggest removing the Triple Lock neutrality protection will enhance our sovereignty and lead to more Irish involvement in peacekeeping.

Gerry Rooney, who led PDForra, the 6,500-strong association for enlisted personnel in the Defence Forces as its deputy general secretary and general secretary for 23 years, made his comments after Ms Carroll MacNeill made her statement while delivering the keynote address at the recent Michael Collins commemoration in Béal na Bláth, Co Cork.

She said the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) authorisation requirement for overseas missions has stripped Ireland of its sovereign right to decide where its peacekeepers should be deployed.

“The fact is that ultimately it’s Article 29.3 of the Irish Constitution which determines where Ireland sends its peacekeepers. It provides that 'Ireland accepts the generally recognised principles of international law as its rule of conduct in its relations with other states',” Mr Rooney said.

He maintains she’s wrong in her suggestion that the removal of the Triple Lock - which requires the UN to authorise peacekeeping missions to which Ireland may then contribute peacekeepers - will enhance our sovereignty and lead to more Irish involvement in peacekeeping.

Mr Rooney, who served twice with UN peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, said the UN Charter outlines extremely important foundational principles of international law and is the source of the legitimacy of peacekeeping.

“Under it, the UNSC is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. It’s the UNSC that usually authorises peacekeeping missions through its resolutions, though the United Nations General Assembly may also authorise peacekeeping missions. Outside of the Constitution and international law, Ireland has no sovereign right to deploy the Permanent Defence Forces (PDF) on peacekeeping missions anywhere overseas,” Mr Rooney said.

He said Ireland and the PDF (Permanent Defence Forces) have benefited from our well-deserved reputation as ‘Blue Helmet’ peacekeepers.

“The move away from this position towards the EU and NATO approach, which is less committed to international law and the sovereignty of certain states, will tarnish Ireland’s reputation and may lead to the cessation of UN authorised peacekeeping efforts and Ireland’s involvement in same,” Mr Rooney said.

However, Mr Rooney said the minister’s comments highlight legitimate concerns around the impasse on the UNSC between its five permanent member states and the lack of progress in establishing UN peacekeeping missions.