Waterford City and County Council · Council Meeting held on 15th January 2026 · 15 January 2026
A vote on a motion expressing dismay at and opposition to the Government's intention to abolish the Triple Lock, which governs the deployment of Defence Forces personnel overseas.
Summary written by AI from the minutes. The motion as recorded follows.
This Council expresses its dismay at and opposition to the government's intention to abolish the Triple Lock, which governs the deployment of Irish Defence Forces personnel overseas. The Triple Lock has ensured that Ireland's participation in overseas missions (with more than 12 defence personnel) would always require approval from: 1. the Cabinet 2. Dáil Éireann and 3. that the mission they are being deployed on would have a UN mandate either from the Security Council or the General Assembly. In 2001, the Irish people rejected the Nice Treaty over concerns that it would drag Ireland into EU military structures that would threaten our neutrality. To get the electorate to approve the EU Treaty, the government with the agreement of the other EU Member States, through a "solemn declaration" introduced the Triple Lock. This Declaration was reiterated following initial rejection of the subsequent Lisbon Treaty. Therefore, this Council rejects government's plans to abolish or amend the Triple Lock, considering the proposal signifies a breach of trust with the Irish electorate and a serious diminution of Irish neutrality.
Proposed by Cllr. Bailey; seconded by Cllr. Burke.
The minutes record: Motion was passed with 16 in favour, 12 against, 1 abstention and 3 absent.
| Party | Tá | Níl | Staon | Didn't vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fine Gael | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Independent | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Sinn Féin | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fianna Fáil | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Labour Party | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Social Democrats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Tá, Níl and Staon are the minutes’ for, against and abstained. “Didn’t vote” covers councillors on the council that day whom the minutes don’t list under any option, for any reason. Parties are as of the meeting day.