Protesters have taken to the streets of Dublin urging the Government to uphold Ireland’s stance on neutrality, reports RTE.
Approximately one thousand participants marched from the Garden of Remembrance to Leinster House, chanting slogans like “Save our neutrality, keep our Triple Lock”.
Roughly a thousand demonstrators made their way through Dublin city this afternoon, demanding the government maintain Ireland’s neutral position, reports RTE.
The demonstration was fronted by Opposition and Independent TDs, as well as peace activists, anti-war organizations, and groups supporting Palestine.
It comes in response to proposed Government legislation that would alter the process by which Ireland sends Defence Forces personnel abroad for international peacekeeping duties, reports RTE.
The General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025 proposes eliminating the mechanism known as the Triple Lock.
Currently, Ireland can only deploy peacekeepers overseas with approval from the United Nations, the Government, and the Dáil, reports RTE.
The Government’s new proposal seeks to remove the requirement for UN authorization.
“We’ve a proud [peacekeeping] tradition … why should we ask Vladimir Putin, a brutal aggressor for his permission as to where Irish men and women can go to peacekeeping. That is an out-of-date concept,” Tánaiste Simon Harris said previously, reports RTE.
The legislation would also allow for up to 50 troops to be deployed without needing a Dáil vote, up from the current limit of 12.
A draft version of the bill will be reviewed over the next eight weeks before being presented for Government approval.
The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from opposition lawmakers, who argue that it weakens Ireland’s traditional policy of neutrality, reports RTE.
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