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PRESS RELEASE; Friday 12th Dec, International Neutrality Day
December 13, 2025 - December 20, 2025
International Day of Neutrality – Ireland Must Reaffirm Its Commitment to Active, Positive Neutrality
On this International Day of Neutrality, Ireland confronts an urgent challenge: our neutrality is being progressively eroded by government decisions favouring increased military alignment, most pressingly, by plans to remove the Triple Lock requirement for a United Nations mandate to deploy Irish troops abroad.
The Triple Lock has served as a key safeguard of Ireland’s neutrality. Article 29 of the Constitution provides only limited protection for Irish neutrality, so removal of the Triple Lock would leave Ireland “neutral in name only,” warns Keep Ireland Neutral, a coalition of peace and neutrality groups across the island.
“The government’s plan to remove the Triple Lock represents a fundamental shift in Ireland’s foreign policy,” said a Keep Ireland Neutral spokesperson. “This move would gravely endanger our neutrality. We see this clearly when the US military uses Shannon airport to transport weapons to conflict zones, showing how bigger powers can pressure Ireland to act against our principles. The Triple Lock is the only safeguard against similar pressure being applied to deploy Irish troops abroad.”
International Day of Neutrality was established by a UN resolution that recognised the importance of UN neutrality and the role that national policies of neutrality can play in strengthening peace and security. As global conflict intensifies, neutrality is not a weakness but a strategic asset for Ireland, protecting our sovereignty and independence. For decades, Irish neutrality has enabled the country to punch above its weight in peacekeeping, mediation, and humanitarian diplomacy.
On this occasion, Keep Ireland Neutral calls on the Irish government to:
- Reaffirm Ireland’s commitment to genuine, active neutrality grounded in international law
- Protect the Triple Lock and resist troop deployments without a UN mandate
- Reject external pressure to align with military alliances and increase military spending, which will have a detrimental effect on public spending for health care, housing, education and social needs
“We urge the Government to restore Ireland’s leadership role in peacekeeping and ensure we remain, in both word and deed, a proud, principled, and actively neutral nation,” the group concluded.
Keep Ireland Neutral is a collective of civil society peace and neutrality groups dedicated to defending and strengthening Irish neutrality as an active, positive principle.
Press contact: Niamh Ní Bhriain | n.nibhriain@tni.org | +31 6 83161768
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