Taoiseach says Michael D Higgins' comments on neutrality and Triple Lock were 'unfair'

LAST UPDATE | 27 Oct

IT WAS “UNFAIR” for former president Michael D Higgins to warn Ireland was sliding into military alliances, the Taoiseach has said.

Micheál Martin rejected allegations that Ireland was “sliding” into military alliances, stating the government has made clear it is not joining Nato and that constitutional prohibitions around EU common defence pacts are already in place.

Higgins, who concluded his second term as president last year, recently told the Irish Examiner there have been insufficient attempts at UN reform and warned that discussions over “preparatory alliances” risked “sliding into things”.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the Taoiseach said there was a need for “far more reflection” in the triple lock and neutrality debate.

Martin said there was already a constitutional prohibition on adopting a decision taken by the European Council to establish a common defence including Ireland.

He said: “I’ve met with former President Higgins on many occasions.

“He knows we have no intention of joining Nato, so we’ve made that very clear as a Government: We are not joining Nato.”

He added: “I think the comments were unfair.

“I think in terms of asserting – I think the word he used was ‘sliding’. We’re not sliding.

“I just want to make that very clear. And we know our limitations, by the way, in terms of military capability.”

The Taoiseach said there were regular accusations of Irish neutrality being “sacrificed” that have not transpired, and rejected Sinn Féin comments around EU warmongering as “not based on facts”.

“We’re militarily neutral. We will remain militarily neutral.”

Meanwhile, today Fianna Fáil TD Minister of State Thomas Byrnesaid Sinn Fein “brought Dáil debate to a new low” over its “misinformation” on the bill.

TDs voted by a narrow margin to reform the system around the deployment of peacekeeping troops.

79 TDs voted for the Bill to end the requirement for UN approval, while 71 voted against in legislation which the government aims to have enacted by the end of the year.

Responding to Byrne’s criticism, Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty said the issue should have been put to a referendum.

“It’s very clear that this government are about dismantling Irish neutrality safeguards that currently exist, while at the same time advocating for a deployment of Irish troops, including young Irish troops into a situation where they could be embroiled in future wars, and that is simply not acceptable,” he told Virgin Media News at Leinster House today.

“It is not peacekeeping missions, and crucially, they have no mandate from the Irish people in relation to that. If they genuinely believe that the Irish people support this, then put it to a referendum.” 

Speaking ahead of a conference on Ireland-Belarus national cultural identities on Tuesday, Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence Thomas Byrne said the Constitution commits Ireland to peace and friendly cooperation among nations.

He added that nothing in EU law or any decision of the EU can have any impact on Irish neutrality, and that those saying otherwise in the Dáil are misinformed.

“One Sinn Féin TD spoke of Irish soldiers becoming combat participants. Now, she had plenty of time to read the legislation to know that that’s not in the legislation,” he said.

“It’s a complete misreading of the legislation. The idea that a TD can get up in Dáil Éireann and say that Irish soldiers will be turned into conflict participants, I thought was a new low.

“It brought Dáil debate to a new low. I think this whole issue of the triple lock has been characterised by misinformation. The lack of understanding in this entire debate is quite shocking.”

The Irish Examiner reported last week that Higgins is critical of the government’s move to end the triple lock.

Higgins said Ireland is “absolutely” sliding into military alliances.

“I think that it’s less than honest not to give the full story when you’re talking about going into preparatory alliances,” he added.

Byrne said the former president is wrong, adding: “It’s not correct to say that we’re being dishonest about this, and it’s not correct to say that we’re joining a military alliance. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

“My one guarantee about this whole debate, after Nice (referendums), after Lisbon (referendums), we never heard another word about neutrality again, despite all the fearmongering in the campaign, because it wasn’t true at the time.

“I absolutely guarantee you after this legislation passes, we will never hear another word about it again either because we’ll still be a neutral country.

“We remain a neutral country and this legislation will not change this, despite all of the shouting and fighting and arguing and misinformation in Dáil.”