THE TAOISEACH AND Sinn Féin clashed in the Dáil today during Leader’s Questions ahead of a debate on the triple lock scheduled for Wednesday. 

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald accused the government of “pushing ahead” with the removal of the triple lock without consulting the people of Ireland. 

The Triple Lock is the mechanism under which Irish troops can be deployed overseas.

Under it, these deployments need to be approved by the UN, government and a Dáil resolution.

She accused the government of “moving away from peacekeeping and towards military adventurism” and said scrapping the policy “opens the door for Ireland to be dragged deeper into EU military structures”.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that peacekeeping has been one of the “great manifestations of Ireland’s outreach to the global world” and said McDonald’s “idea that we’re about to abandon that is outrageously hyperbolic”.

“I don’t take lectures from you in terms of the conduct of foreign policy,” he continued. 

He said the government won’t be taking “lectures” from Sinn Féin about foreign policy as, he claimed, the party “once supported Nazism during World War II”.

This particular comment caused shouting to erupt in the Dáil, leading to the Ceann Comhairle calling for order. 

The Taoiseach continued: “When Éamon de Valera affirmed the policy of our neutrality during World War II, Sinn Féin leaders colluded with the Hitler regime, and Sean Russell was the key person.”

He accused Sinn Féin of unveiling “a statue to Seán Russell” and said: “How dare you lecture me about Irish neutrality? You haven’t an inch of credibility in that respect.” 

Martin said Sinn Féin “couldn’t have given a continental” about neutrality for “many, many decades”.

The controversial statue was first unveiled in 1951 and has since been decapitated, vandalised and even replaced – but it remains there today.

Russell was an anti-treaty Irish republican and became chief of staff of the IRA in the early years of Free State Ireland.

Russell died in 1940 on a German u-boat after travelling to Nazi Germany in an effort to secure support for the IRA’s efforts to overthrow the Free State and reunite Ireland north and south.

McDonald has been criticised in the past for speaking at a commenmoration for the Russell statue. 

Speaking today, McDonald said the triple lock remains “at the core” of neutrality and the government is attempting to “force through” this legislation “by means of a guillotine”.

“A matter of this importance must be put to referendum.”

Martin said the “majority of people want us to keep peacekeeping” and “the world has changed dramatically”.

A three-hour debate in the Dáil on the legislation is set for Wednesday afternoon. 

Save Our Neutrality - a clear message from the opposition today. It is scandalous that the government is trying to ram through the end of the Triple Lock without even allowing a full debate in the Dáil. We will be mobilising to stop them. https://t.co/mGb1sCeOVt

— Paul Murphy 🇵🇸 (@paulmurphy_TD) October 20, 2026

In the chamber today, other members of opposition parties held up placards with ‘save neutrality’ written on them. 

The triple lock is a mechanism that sets out the conditions under which more than 12 Irish troops can participate in overseas peacekeeping or peace support operations. Under the current system, deployments require three approvals: a United Nations mandate, government approval, and a Dáil resolution.

Under the proposed changes brought to cabinet back in June by Defence Minister Helen McEntee, the requirement for UN Security Council authorisation would be removed.

Ministers argue the reforms would prevent Ireland being blocked from participating in international missions due to UN Security Council deadlock or vetoes by permanent members such as Russia, and would ensure Ireland can respond more flexibly to peace support operations.