A Laois TD has been appointed to the new Oireachtas National Security and Defence Committee, which is to be chaired by Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh.
Laois Independent Republican TD Brian Stanley will join the Committee, and has highlighted several key aspects that he will be focusing on – Irish neutrality, improving the Irish Defence Forces, and action to address the risk of cyber-attacks.
“I welcome the opportunity to be part of this important committee, this comes at a crucial time for both our Foreign policy and our Defence as a State,” Deputy Stanley said.
“The ongoing attempts by the Taoiseach Michael Martin to abolish the ‘Triple Lock’ and draw us into a military alliance must be countered.
“Our military neutrality has served us well and has allowed us to be a credible voice at the UN and on the world stage for countries like Palestine, that are being occupied and whose population are facing genocide.”
The Triple Lock is a legislative device that requires a United Nations’ mandate along with Dáil and Government approval before allowing more than 12 members of the Irish Defence Forces to be deployed on overseas missions.
The Government are proposing a change in legislation, however, that would remove the requirement of formal UN approval and replace it with a stipulation that the deployments are in accordance with the UN Charter.
The Government argues that this will prevent the five permanent members of the Security Council – Russia, China, the UK, the US and France – from exercising their veto against Irish peacekeeping missions.
This proposal has been met with backlash and criticism from several opposition TDs as well as the Irish Neutrality League, who say they removal of the Triple Lock would compromise and jeopardise Ireland’s neutrality.
Deputy Stanley added that: “Our own Defence as a State must be improved. This means bringing up our Army to full strength and having a functioning and fully equipped Navy and Air Force.
“It’s essential that our undersea telecommunications and electricity infrastructure are protected.”
Finally, Deputy Stanley addressed “the risk of cyber-attacks by hostile States and International criminals,” which he said “was brought home to all of us when we had the large-scale cyber-attack on our HSE computer systems in May 2021.
“Our country must have the capacity to counter such attacks, which can have catastrophic consequences for Public Services and State Security.”
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