Minister hits out over triple lock 'misinformation'

Sinn Féin has "brought Dáil debate to a new low" over its "misinformation" on a Bill to reform the triple lock system, according to Fianna Fáil TD Thomas Byrne.

It comes after the Dáil voted by a narrow margin to reform the system around the deployment of peacekeeping troops.

Some 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.

Sinn Féin claimed that changing the triple lock without a referendum would be a "profound betrayal" by the Government.

"Scrapping the triple lock opens the door to Ireland being dragged into EU military structures, into dangerous alliances and further alignment with Nato," the party’s president Mary Lou McDonald said in the Dáil last week.

Speaking ahead of a conference on Ireland-Belarus national cultural identities, Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence Thomas Byrne said the constitution commits Ireland to peace and friendly co-operation 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 former president Michael D Higgins is critical of the Government’s move to end the triple lock.

Mr 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.

Mr 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."

Mr Byrne was speaking ahead of an Ireland-Belarus conference with head of the united transitional cabinet of Belarus Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya ran for president of Belarus in 2020 against President Alexander Lukashenka, who has been in power since 1994.

Although official figures said Mr Lukashenko won by a landslide, Ms Tsikhanouskaya claimed victory, leading to hundreds of thousands of people in Belarus protesting to demand the end of Mr Lukashenko’s reign.

There have been allegations of widespread vote-rigging and Belarus is considered the "last dictatorship in Europe" by the European Parliament.

The conference comes as part of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union. The council has previously imposed sanctions on Belarus’ government officials.

Ms Tsikhanouskaya called for more sanctions and for the democratic element of her country to forge closer bonds with Europe.

She said: "Our message to all the people is clear: free, independent and democratic Belarus is essential for lasting peace and security in Europe, and this starts with the people of Belarus.

"I believe that dictators understand only the language of power and sanctions are a very efficient and strong instrument to make regimes and dictators surrender."

She added that "it’s crucial that Ukraine wins this war".

"If the democratic world will allow Ukraine to lose, it will affect not only Belarus, Ukraine, but also the entire Europe," she said.

"Belarus has to return to its European family of nations, we want to become a European country, it’s not only about human rights, it’s about security.

"Without free and democratic Belarus, there will be no peace in the region. Because Lukashenko, who is serving Russia’s interests, will provoke, will blackmail, and threaten European borders as well."

Ms Tikhanovskaya was one of the "Chernobyl children" who came to Ireland to be hosted by families as a reprieve after their health was affected by the radioactive fallout of the 1986 nuclear disaster in neighbouring Ukraine.

She said that having come repeatedly for summers in Ireland in the 1990s, Ireland and Belarus have a shared fight for national identity.

"In your history, your culture, your language was subjugated by England. The same Belarus is going through now because Russia is crucifying Belarus," she said.

"They want to erase our history. They want to ruin our connection with Europe and to subjugate, to make Belarus Russian. Lukashenko is absolutely a pro-Russian person and he himself wants to ruin everything Belarusian.

"This is what the Irish nation went through. I see your attempts to revive the language and so it’s so inspirational for me."