Sinn Féin TD Paul Donnelly has said that the government should hold a referendum on neutrality.
The Sinn Féin TD was speaking during a Dáil debate on the issue, where government and opposition TDs discussed a topic that has come to define this Dáil term.
Donnelly asked, “what is the government so afraid of? It is afraid of the voice of the people of Ireland because they have said in the Nice and Lisbon treaty referenda that they do not support the ending of our neutrality.”
“They do not support Irish soldiers going to fight other wars on behalf of the people who colonised this country and the people who are arming and participating in genocide; we want nothing to do with those people.”
“If the government is really serious about the Irish people and democracy, it should hold a referendum, it is in its hands,” he said.
The Dublin West TD noted that Army personnel are renowned for peacekeeping missions around the world in war-torn countries and “not for going off to fight other people’s wars.”
“They are renowned for bringing peace to areas where truces and ceasefires are brittle. We have a proud history of peace and conflict resolution, but the government is asking us to get into bed with countries that are not only defending, but arming a genocide.”
Donnelly accused the government of “abandoning the protection of the triple lock that grounds our neutrality” and claimed “the government is signalling to the world that it does not believe in the UN.”
“While the UN has its flaws, it still represents the best opportunity to engage in dialogue rather than conflict and loss of life.”
Donnelly said that the Triple Lock was mentioned in the coalition agreement between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael upon the government formation in early 2025, but noted that the enactment of the Occupied Territories Bill, which was also mentioned in the coalition agreement, has not been brought forward by the government.
The motion, put forward by independent TD Brian Stanley, was criticised by Fianna Fáil TD Jennifer Murnane O’Connor, who said “the motion misrepresents both by linking the proposed reform of the triple lock with Ireland’s policy of neutrality and the amendment of domestic legislation with the need for a referendum on the issue.”
She said, “the government does not support the proposal to hold a referendum enshrining neutrality in the constitution.”
“The policy of military neutrality has been a deliberate policy choice on the part of successive governments since the Second World War. If passed, this motion would significantly restrict the government’s ability to exercise its policy-making authority with regard to the conduct of external relations as set out under Article 29 of the constitution,” she replied to the opposition.
“Accordingly, the government has no plans to bring forward legislation to hold a constitutional referendum on neutrality.”