Irish neutrality

Last updated

Ireland has a longstanding policy of military neutrality, which has meant not joining military alliances or defence pacts, or taking part in international conflicts. The nature of Irish neutrality has varied over time. The Irish Free State declared itself a neutral country in 1922, and Ireland remained neutral during the Second World War; although it allowed Allied military aircraft to fly through part of its airspace, and shared some intelligence with the Allies (see Irish neutrality during World War II). During the Cold War, it did not join NATO nor the Non-Aligned Movement. [1] Since the 1970s, some have defined Irish neutrality more broadly to include a commitment to "United Nations peacekeeping, human rights and disarmament". [1] Recent Irish governments have defined it narrowly as non-membership of military defensive alliances. [1] [2] Although the republic is not part of any military alliance, it relies on a NATO member, the United Kingdom, to protect Irish airspace. [3] It also allows stopovers by some foreign military aircraft, provided they are not armed.

Contents

Ireland is one of four European Union countries that are not members of NATO; the others are Austria, Cyprus and Malta. The compatibility of neutrality with Ireland's EU membership has been a point of debate in EU treaty referendum campaigns since the 1990s. The Seville Declarations on the Treaty of Nice acknowledge Ireland's "traditional policy of military neutrality". [4] [5] The Irish Defence Forces have been involved in many UN peacekeeping missions.

Concept

There are notable differences between Irish neutrality and “traditional” types of neutral states:

After the September 11 attacks, these conditions were "waived in respect of aircraft operating in pursuit of the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1368". [8] Irish governments have always said that allowing aircraft to use Irish soil does not constitute participation in any particular conflict and is compatible with a neutral stance, adducing the transit of German troops between Finland and Norway through neutral Swedish territory during World War II.

A neutral state may also allow its citizens to serve in the armed forces of other, possibly belligerent, nations. Ireland does not restrict its citizens from serving in foreign armies, and significant numbers of Irish citizens serve or have served in the British, and to a lesser extent United States armies and the French Foreign Legion. [9] [10] [11]

Ireland's neutrality is in general a matter of government policy rather than a requirement of statute law. One exception is Article 29, section 4, subsection 9° of the Irish constitution: [12]

The State shall not adopt a decision taken by the European Council to establish a common defence pursuant to Article 42 of the Treaty on European Union where that common defence would include the State.

This was originally inserted by the 2002 amendment ratifying the Treaty of Nice, [13] and updated by the 2009 amendment ratifying the Treaty of Lisbon. [14] An earlier bill intended to ratify the Treaty of Nice did not include a common defence opt-out, and was rejected in the first Nice referendum, in 2001. [15]

The Defence Act 1954, the principal statute governing the Irish Defence Forces, did not oblige members of the Irish Army to serve outside the state (members of the Air Corps and Naval Service were not so limited). [16] A 1960 amendment [17] was intended to allow deployment in United Nations peacekeeping missions, [18] [19] and requires three forms of authorisation, which since the 1990s have come to be called the "triple lock": [20]

  1. A UN Security Council resolution or UN General Assembly resolution;
  2. A formal decision by the Irish government;
  3. Approval by a resolution of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas or parliament, to which the government is responsible).

These provisions were modified in 1993 [21] to allow for Chapter VII missions and again in 2006 [22] to allow for regionally organised UN missions. [20]

History

Before independence

Irish Citizen Army outside Liberty Hall in 1914, in front of a banner reading "We serve neither King nor Kaiser but Ireland". Irish Citizen Army Group Liberty Hall Dublin 1914.jpg
Irish Citizen Army outside Liberty Hall in 1914, in front of a banner reading "We serve neither King nor Kaiser but Ireland".

Irish leaders in the Nine Years' War (1594–1603) allied with Habsburg Spain, who sent military aid to the Irish. [23] Following their defeat, all of Ireland was a dependency of England and then of Great Britain. During this period, Catholic soldiers from Ireland fought in the armies of several European Catholic countries, in what is known as the Flight of the Wild Geese. In 1644–1645, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the Irish Confederacy sent a military expedition to Scotland to help the Scottish Royalists. During the Irish Rebellion of 1798, the United Irishmen sought and received military assistance from the French First Republic. [23]

Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1922. While Irish unionists supported political integration with Britain, Irish nationalists were divided between those who envisaged some continuing link with Britain and the "advanced nationalists", mainly republicans, who wanted full independence. Separatists generally envisaged an independent Ireland being neutral, but were prepared to ally with Britain's enemies in order to secure that independence, reflected in the maxim "England's difficulty is Ireland's opportunity". [23] At the outbreak of the First World War, James Connolly was president of the Irish Neutrality League [24] and was prosecuted for a banner reading "We serve neither King nor Kaiser but Ireland". During the 1916 Easter Rising, Connolly and the other leaders of the uprising sought military aid from Germany. [25]

In the 1921 negotiations leading to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, Erskine Childers envisaged the Irish Republic having a neutral status guaranteed in international law on the model of Belgium and Switzerland. [26]

Irish Free State

The Irish Free State established in 1922 by the Anglo-Irish Treaty was a Dominion of the British Commonwealth, with the UK retaining responsibility for Ireland's marine defence as well as three naval bases, the "Treaty Ports". Article 49 of the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State stated, "Save in the case of actual invasion, the Irish Free State ... shall not be committed to active participation in any war without the assent of the Oireachtas [parliament]". In the Third Dáil debate on the draft constitution, the Provisional Government rejected a Labour Party amendment requiring assent of the electorate via referendum. Thomas Johnson argued "The war that is to be guarded against is a war overseas, is a war that this country may be drawn into by Parliament, by the will of Parliament perhaps, at the instigation of perhaps Canada, or perhaps Australia, or perhaps South Africa, or perhaps Great Britain, and the last is very much the more likely". [27]

In the Statute of Westminster 1931, the UK renounced the right to legislate for the Free State. The 1938 Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement saw the Treaty Ports handed over to the Free State.

The Free State joined the International Committee for Non-Intervention in the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Civil War (Non-Intervention) Act, 1937 made it an offence to travel from Ireland to Spain to fight for either side. [28] This applied both to Irish citizens and nationals of other countries on the committee. [29] [30] Nevertheless, there was Irish involvement in the Spanish Civil War on both sides by private individuals and groups. Another statute related to the committee was the Merchant Shipping (Spanish Civil War) Act 1937, which restricted Irish shipping's access to Spain until 27 April 1939. [31] [32]

World War II

Ireland remained neutral during World War II. The Fianna Fáil government's position was flagged years in advance by Taoiseach Éamon de Valera and had broad support. James Dillon was the only member of Dáil Éireann to oppose it during the war, resigning from Fine Gael in 1942 and demanding that Ireland assist the Allies (while not necessarily declaring war on the Axis). [33] [34] However, tens of thousands of Irish citizens, who were by law British subjects, fought in the Allied armies against the Nazis, mostly in the British army. Senators John Keane and Frank MacDermot also favoured Allied support. [35]

De Valera said in his wartime speeches that small states should stay out of the conflicts of big powers; hence Ireland's policy was officially "neutral", and the country did not publicly declare its support for either side. In practice, while Luftwaffe pilots who crash-landed in Ireland and German sailors were interned, Royal Air Force (RAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) pilots who crashed were released on personal assurances and usually allowed to cross the border into British territory (although some Allied personnel were also interned [36] ). The internees were referred to as "guests of the nation". The German embassy had to pay for their keep. If they were on a non-combative mission they were repatriated. While it was easy for Allied pilots to make that claim, it was not realistic for Luftwaffe pilots to make a similar claim. Towards the end of the war, the German embassy was unable to pay, so the internees had to work on local farms. Strict wartime press censorship had the effect of controlling a moral reaction to the war's unfolding events and reiterated the public position that Irish neutrality was morally superior to the stance of any of the combatants. [37]

Allied military aircraft were allowed to overfly County Donegal to bases in County Fermanagh. This was known as the Donegal Corridor. The bodies of any crashed Allied airmen were repatriated by the Irish Army at the border, where they would be met by an Allied officer. On at least one occasion, an Allied Air Force officer thanked his Irish counterpart for the honour they bestowed upon the repatriated airmen. The Irish captain was said to reply, "Ours may be the honour, but yours is the glory." [38]

USAAF aircraft flying to North Africa refuelled at Shannon Airport and flying boats at nearby Foynes.[ citation needed ]

During the war, an estimated 70,000 citizens of neutral Ireland served as volunteers in the British Armed Forces (and another estimated 50,000 from Northern Ireland). [37] Those who deserted the Irish Army to serve in the British Army, on returning to Ireland were stripped of all pay and pension rights, and banned for seven years from any employment paid for by state or government funds. [39]

Irish military intelligence (G2) shared information with the British military and even held secret meetings to decide what to do if Germany invaded Ireland to attack Britain, which resulted in Plan W, a plan for joint Irish and British military action should the Germans invade. However General Hugo McNeill, the commander of the Irish Second Division based on the Northern Ireland border, had private discussions with the German ambassador, Edouard Hempel, about German military assistance in the event of a British invasion from the north. [40] De Valera declined Germany's offer of captured British weapons. [41] The Germans did have a plan for an invasion of Ireland called Operation Green, similar to the Allies' Operation Bodyguard, but it was only to be put into operation with Operation Sea Lion, the plan to conquer Britain.

During the Belfast Blitz in April 1941, when the Luftwaffe bombed Belfast in Northern Ireland, De Valera responded immediately to a request for help from Basil Brooke, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. Fire engines were sent from the south to help their Belfast colleagues. De Valera formally protested to the German government and made a speech declaring "they are our people".

Irish neutrality during the war was threatened from within by the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which sought to provoke a confrontation between Britain and Ireland. This plan collapsed, however, when IRA chief of staff Seán Russell died in a U-boat off the Irish coast as part of Operation Dove; the Germans also later came to realise they had overestimated the capabilities of the IRA. The American ambassador, David Gray, stated that he once asked de Valera, early in the war, what he would do if German paratroopers "liberated" Derry. According to Gray, de Valera was silent for a time and then replied "I don't know."[ citation needed ]

Many German spies were sent to Ireland, but all were captured quickly as a result of good intelligence and sometimes their ineptitude. The chief Abwehr spy was Hermann Görtz.

As the state was neutral, Irish cargo ships continued to sail with full navigation lights. They had large tricolours and the word "EIRE" painted large on their sides and decks. Irish ships rescued more than 500 seamen, and some airmen, from many countries during the war. However, many Irish ships were attacked by belligerents on both sides. Over 20% of Irish seamen died, on clearly marked neutral vessels, in the Irish Mercantile Marine during World War II.

Winston Churchill, the British wartime Prime Minister, made an attack on the Irish Government and in particular Éamon de Valera in his radio broadcast on VE Day. Churchill maintained that the British government displayed restraint on the Irish state while the de Valera government were allowed to "frolic with the Germans". Churchill maintained that the British could have invaded the Irish state, but displayed "considerable restraint" in not doing so. De Valera replied to Churchill in a radio broadcast: [42]

Mr. Churchill makes it clear that in certain circumstances he would have violated our neutrality and that he would justify his action by Britain's necessity. It seems strange to me that Mr. Churchill does not see that this, if accepted, would mean that Britain's necessity would become a moral code and that when this necessity became sufficiently great, other people's rights were not to count....this same code is precisely why we have the disastrous succession of wars... shall it be world war number three?

The Cold War

During the Cold War, Ireland maintained its policy of neutrality. It did not align itself officially with NATO, the Warsaw Pact, or the Non-Aligned Movement. It refused to join NATO due to a sovereignty dispute over Northern Ireland with the United Kingdom, a NATO member. [43] [44] [45] [46] Ireland offered to set up a separate alliance with the United States but this was refused. This offer was linked in part to the $133 million received from the Marshall Aid Plan.[ citation needed ]

However, secret transmission of information from the government to the CIA started in 1955. The link was established by Liam Cosgrave via a Mr. Cram and the Irish embassy in London, and was not revealed until December 2007. [47] In 1962–63, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Seán Lemass authorised searches of aircraft that stopped over at Shannon while flying between Warsaw Pact countries and Cuba, for "warlike material". [48]

In 1952 the government agreed a secret memorandum of understanding with the UK government regarding air defence, under which the Royal Air Force can apply to intercept hostile aircraft in Irish airspace, conscious of the lack of capability of the Irish Air Corps to do so. The agreement has been renewed by subsequent governments despite misgivings. In 2023, Senator Gerard Craughwell applied to the High Court for a judicial review of its constitutionality. [49]

Ireland applied to join the then European Communities in 1963 and finally acceded in 1973. Garret FitzGerald, who was Minister for Foreign Affairs 1973–77, claims that both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in the 1960s and 1970s accepted that European integration would eventually reach a point where Ireland would have to join in defence co-operation. [50] FitzGerald points to Charles Haughey's opposition to the explicit mention of neutrality in a 1981 Dáil motion, [51] stating that Haughey adopted a more pro-neutrality stance upon entering opposition later in 1981. [50]

1990s–2010s

The 1994 coalition government undertook not to change the policy of military neutrality without a referendum. [52] That government's 1996 white paper on foreign policy stated: [52]

The majority of the Irish people have always cherished Ireland's military neutrality, and recognise the positive values that inspire it, in peace-time as well as time of war. Neutrality has been the policy of the State in the event of armed conflict and has provided the basis for Ireland's wider efforts to promote international peace and security.

It recommended joining NATO's Partnership for Peace and participating in humanitarian missions of the Western European Union (WEU), but opposed joining NATO or the WEU as incompatible with military neutrality. [52]

Ireland provided 120 Defence Forces personnel as trainers to the International Security Assistance Force mission in the 2001–2021 Afghanistan War. [53] [54] The personnel were provided under United Nations mandate. [53]

The Fianna Fáil-led government did not take a position on the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Ireland, then a member of the UN Security Council, voted "yes" to Resolution 1441, which warned of "serious consequences" if Iraq did not comply with weapons inspectors. Some United States Air Force planes were allowed to refuel at Shannon Airport before and during the conflict, as were civilian aircraft transporting US military personnel; others had permission to overfly Irish air space. A resolution of the Dáil on 20 March 2003 approved these arrangements. [55]

Anti-war activist Edward Horgan took a case in the High Court seeking declarations that the government, in allowing use of Shannon, had breached the state's obligations as a neutral state. While the court held that the custom in international law was that "a neutral state may not permit the movement of large numbers of troops or munitions of one belligerent State through its territory en route to a theatre of war with another", it found this was not part of Irish domestic law, as Irish neutrality was "a matter of government policy only". The Dáil resolution implied that letting military aircraft refuel at Shannon did not amount to "participation" in the war, and the courts had no power to overrule the Dáil on this issue. [56]

In 2006, the Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea, announced that the Irish government would open talks on joining the European Union battle groups. O'Dea said that joining the battlegroups would not affect Ireland's military neutrality, and that a UN mandate would be required for all battlegroup operations with Irish participation. Green Party foreign affairs spokesperson John Gormley condemned the decision, saying that the government was "discarding the remnants of Irish neutrality". [57]

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said in 2007: "the truth is, Ireland is not neutral. We are merely unaligned". [58]

In 2012, the Oireachtas established a joint committee to review petitions submitted by the public. An early petition sought clarification of government policy in relation to the use of Irish airspace by foreign military aircraft. In 2013–16 the committee held discussions with the petitioners, government members, the Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and academics, [59] and issued a report, which stated: [60]

The Joint Committee note the lacuna between what is understood by the citizens by neutrality and what is the de facto position. Accordingly, the Joint Committee recommend that the Dáil and Seanad debate the matter of neutrality with a view to the holding of a Referendum so that the will of the people can be determined.

In 2015, the Fine Gael–Labour government published a foreign policy review which stated, "Our policy of military neutrality remains a core element of Irish foreign policy." [61] It defined neutrality as "non-membership of military alliances and non-participation in common or mutual defence arrangements", [62] while working with international organisations for peacekeeping missions. [63]

Ireland joined the EU's Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) when it was founded in December 2017. The Fine Gael-led government said it would participate on a case-by-case basis and membership did not compromise neutrality. Fianna Fáil supported membership; Sinn Féin, the Greens, Solidarity, and People Before Profit opposed it; the Labour Party had reservations. [64]

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine

In a Dáil discussion on the Russo-Ukrainian crisis in January 2022, Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit asked: [65]

Why does the Government correctly condemn Russian military exercises in Irish waters but allow the US military to use Shannon Airport [?] ... Neutrality means not taking sides in dangerous conflicts and game-playing between major imperial powers.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin replied: [65]

Ireland accepts Ukrainian territorial integrity [...] We're not politically neutral but we're militarily neutral. It's an important distinction. We're members of the European Union. We work with our European Union colleagues in terms of rules-based multilateral approaches to international disputes.

In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Tánaiste Leo Varadkar stated that while Ireland is not militarily aligned, the country is "not neutral at all" in relation to this conflict and that "support for Ukraine is unwavering and unconditional". [66] Days later the Department of Foreign Affairs said it would "constructively abstain" from an EU fund for military aid to Ukraine, but contribute instead to a fund that did not include weaponry. [67]

In March 2023 a bill to hold a referendum on Irish membership in a hypothetical European army was opposed by the government, who called it "unnecessary". [68] Micheál Martin said that if the referendum had taken place he was confident it would have passed and that Ireland needs to 'reflect' on the issue of neutrality. [69]

A Consultative Forum on International Security Policy was held in Dublin, Cork and Galway during 2023. It was a public forum to discuss Ireland's foreign, security and defence policy. Micheál Martin, then Minister for Defence and Foreign Affairs, said every country in Europe had reviewed their defence and security in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. [70] [71] [72] President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, rebuffed the forum, saying that Ireland was drifting away from neutrality and "playing with fire". His comments were criticised by government ministers. [73] [74] [75] The forum was disrupted by anti-NATO protesters from the Connolly Youth Movement; with Martin describing them as "undemocratic" and "trying to shut down debate". [76] Boyd Barrett accused those involved in the forum of "trying to soften up public opinion to abandoning Ireland's neutrality." [77]

United Nations peacekeeping

Irish Defence Forces have seen active service as part of United Nations peacekeeping activities –initially in the early 1960s Congo Crisis, and subsequently in Cyprus (UNFICYP) and Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Weapons control

A 2004 report by Forfás noted that the policy of neutrality is a factor in Ireland's lack of an arms industry and strict export controls on weapons. [78] The latter were previously enforced by the Control of Exports (Goods and Technology) Order 2009, [79] a statutory instrument made under the Control of Exports Act 1983. [80] The 2009 order was replaced by the Control of Exports (Goods and Technology) Order 2012, which reflects the 2008 EU Common Position on Arms Exports. [81] [82] The 2004 Forfás report noted concerns about dual-use technology and the use as weapons components of products from major Irish export industries such as chemicals, telecommunications equipment, computer chips and software. [83] The state is also bound by EU regulations and international arms control treaties. [84] [81] In 2017, four export licence applications were refused for dual-use items. [81]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Éamon de Valera</span> Irish statesman (1882–1975)

Éamon de Valera was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of government and head of state and had a leading role in introducing the 1937 Constitution of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. T. Cosgrave</span> Irish politician (1880–1965)

William Thomas Cosgrave was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as the president of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State from 1922 to 1932, leader of the Opposition in both the Free State and Ireland from 1932 to 1944, leader of Fine Gael from 1934 to 1944, founder and leader of Fine Gael's predecessor, Cumann na nGaedheal, from 1923 to 1933, chairman of the Provisional Government from August 1922 to December 1922, the president of Dáil Éireann from September 1922 to December 1922, the minister for Finance from 1922 to 1923 and minister for Local Government from 1919 to 1922. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1921 to 1944. He was a member of parliament (MP) for the Kilkenny North constituency from 1918 to 1922.

The president of Dáil Éireann, later also president of the Irish Republic, was the leader of the revolutionary Irish Republic of 1919–1922. The office was created in the Dáil Constitution adopted by Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Republic, at its first meeting in January 1919. This provided that the president was elected by the Dáil as head of a cabinet called the Ministry of Dáil Éireann. During this period, Ireland was deemed by Britain to be part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, but the Irish Republic had made a unilateral Declaration of Independence on 21 January 1919. On 6 December 1922, after the ratification of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Irish Free State was recognised by Britain as a sovereign state, and the position of the President of Dáil Éireann was replaced by that of President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State but, as a Dominion of the British Empire, King George V was head of state until the dominion status was rescinded in 1949.

The 13th government of Ireland was the government of Ireland formed after the 1969 general election to the 19th Dáil held on 18 June 1969. It was formed by Fianna Fáil, which had been in office since the 1957 general election. This was the first election it won with Jack Lynch as its leader. It lasted for 1,352 days.

There were two governments in the 18th Dáil, which was elected at the 1965 general election held on 7 April 1965. Both were single-party Fianna Fáil governments, which had been in government since the 1957 election. The 11th government of Ireland was led by Seán Lemass as Taoiseach and lasted for 569 days. The 12th government of Ireland was led by Jack Lynch as Taoiseach and lasted for 966 days.

The 10th government of Ireland was the government of Ireland formed after the 1961 general election to the 17th Dáil held on 4 October 1961. It was a minority government formed by Fianna Fáil, which had been in office since the 1957 election. It was the first election it had won since Seán Lemass had succeeded Éamon de Valera as leader. It lasted for 1,289 days.

The 5th government of Ireland, commonly known as the First inter-party government, was formed after the 1948 general election held to the 13th Dáil on 4 February. It was an Irish government of Fine Gael, the Labour Party, Clann na Poblachta, Clann na Talmhan and the National Labour Party—and one TD who was an independent, James Dillon. The parties had many different aims and viewpoints, but opposition to Fianna Fáil overcame difficulties in forming a government; Éamon de Valera had led a series of single-party Fianna Fáil governments since 1932. The cabinet was made up of representatives of all parties, and ministers were given a great degree of independence. Some key events during the lifetime of the government include the declaration of the Republic of Ireland in 1948 and the crisis surrounding the Mother and Child Scheme in 1951. It lasted for 1,212 days.

The 4th Government of Ireland was the government of Ireland formed after the 1944 general election to the 12th Dáil held on 30 May. It was a single-party Fianna Fáil government led by Éamon de Valera as Taoiseach. It lasted for 1,350 days.Fianna Fáil had been in office since the 1932 general election.

The 2nd government of Ireland was the government of Ireland formed after the 1938 general election to the 10th Dáil held on 17 June. It was a single-party Fianna Fáil government led by Éamon de Valera as Taoiseach. Fianna Fáil had been in office since the 1932 general election. It lasted for 1,828 days.

The government of the 9th Dáil was successively the 8th Executive Council of the Irish Free State and the 1st government of Ireland. They were led by Éamon de Valera, first as President of the Executive Council and then as Taoiseach. It was formed after the 1937 general election held on 1 July, the same day the new Constitution of Ireland was approved in a plebiscite. Fianna Fáil were continuing in office as a single-party government as they had since the 1932 general election. The 8th Executive Council lasted for 162 days until the coming into operation of the new constitution and the 1st Government lasted for 184 days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Emergency (Ireland)</span> State of emergency in the Republic of Ireland during World War II

The Emergency was a state of emergency in the independent state of Ireland in the Second World War, throughout which the state remained neutral. It was proclaimed by Dáil Éireann on 2 September 1939, allowing the passage of the Emergency Powers Act 1939 by the Oireachtas the following day. This gave sweeping powers to the government, including internment, censorship of the press and correspondence, and control of the economy. The Emergency Powers Act lapsed on 2 September 1946, although the Emergency was not formally ended until 1976.

The Twenty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Act 2002 is an amendment of the Constitution of Ireland which permitted the state to ratify the Treaty of Nice. It was approved by referendum on 19 October 2002 and signed into law on 7 November of the same year. The amendment followed a previous failed attempt to approve the Nice Treaty which was rejected in the first Nice referendum held in 2001.

In Ireland, direct elections by universal suffrage are used for the President, the ceremonial head of state; for Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas or parliament; for the European Parliament; and for local government. All elections use proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV) in constituencies returning three or more members, except that the presidential election and by-elections use the single-winner analogue of STV, elsewhere called instant-runoff voting or the alternative vote. Members of Seanad Éireann, the second house of the Oireachtas, are partly nominated, partly indirectly elected, and partly elected by graduates of particular universities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures</span> Former Irish government cabinet minister

The Minister for the Co-ordination of Defensive Measures was the title of Frank Aiken as a member of the Government of Ireland from 8 September 1939 to 18 June 1945 during The Emergency — the state of emergency in operation in Ireland during World War II. The Minister was intended to handle Civil Defence and related measures, allowing the Minister for Defence to concentrate on matters relating to the regular Army. The office was also responsible for handling wartime censorship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irish head of state from 1922 to 1949</span> Changing status of the Irish head of state for internal and external purposes from 1922 to 1949

The state known today as Ireland is the successor state to the Irish Free State, which existed from December 1922 to December 1937. At its foundation, the Irish Free State was, in accordance with its constitution and the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, governed as a constitutional monarchy, in personal union with the monarchy of the United Kingdom and other members of what was then called the British Commonwealth. The monarch as head of state was represented in the Irish Free State by his Governor-General, who performed most of the monarch's duties based on the advice of elected Irish officials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adoption of the Constitution of Ireland</span> Plebiscite approving the Constitution of Ireland

The current Constitution of Ireland came into effect on 29 December 1937, repealing and replacing the Constitution of the Irish Free State, having been approved in a national plebiscite on 1 July 1937 with the support of 56.5% of voters in the then Irish Free State. The Constitution was closely associated with Éamon de Valera, the President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State at the time of its approval.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irish neutrality during World War II</span> Condition of Ireland not supporting either side during WWII

The policy of neutrality was adopted by Ireland's Oireachtas at the instigation of the Taoiseach Éamon de Valera upon the outbreak of World War II in Europe. It was maintained throughout the conflict, in spite of several German air raids by aircraft that missed their intended British targets, and attacks on Ireland's shipping fleet by Allies and Axis alike. Possibilities of both German and British invasions were discussed in Dáil Éireann. Both eventualities were prepared for, although the most detailed preparations were done with the Allies under Plan W. De Valera's ruling party, Fianna Fáil, supported his neutral policy for the duration of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency Powers Act 1939</span> Irish legislation

The Emergency Powers Act 1939 (EPA) was an Act of the Oireachtas enacted on 3 September 1939, after an official state of emergency had been declared on 2 September 1939 in response to the outbreak of World War II. The Act empowered the government to:

make provisions for securing the public safety and the preservation of the state in time of war and, in particular, to make provision for the maintenance of public order and for the provision and control of supplies and services essential to the life of the community, and to provide for divers and other matters connected with the matters aforesaid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dáil Éireann</span> House of representatives of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament)

Dáil Éireann is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann. It consists of 160 members, each known as a Teachta Dála. TDs represent 39 constituencies and are directly elected for terms not exceeding five years, on the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV). Its powers are similar to those of lower houses under many other bicameral parliamentary systems and it is by far the dominant branch of the Oireachtas. Subject to the limits imposed by the Constitution of Ireland, it has power to pass any law it wishes, and to nominate and remove the Taoiseach. Since 1922, it has met in Leinster House in Dublin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ireland–NATO relations</span> Bilateral relations

Ireland and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have had a formal relationship since 1999, when Ireland joined as a member of the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) program and signed up to NATO's Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC). To date, Ireland has not sought to become a member of NATO due to its traditional policy of military neutrality.

References

Sources

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Tonra et al. 2012, Preface: The Study of Irish Foreign Policy p.xix Archived 17 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Ireland's policy of military neutrality". Department of Foreign Affairs (Ireland). Ireland's policy of military neutrality has long been an important strand of our independent foreign policy and is characterised by non-membership of military alliances or common or mutual defence arrangements.
  3. ↑ "Who protects Irish skies? The secret air defence deal that dates back to the Cold War". The Irish Times . 8 May 2023.
  4. ↑ Seville Declarations on the Nice Treaty
  5. ↑ "Ambiguous alliance: Neutrality, opt-outs, and European defence". European Council on Foreign Relations . 28 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "Military.ie – FAQ". Archived from the original on 26 December 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  7. ↑ "Irish Statute Book, Statutory Instruments, S.I. No. 74/1952 – Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order, 1952". Irish Statute Book . Irishstatutebook.ie. Archived from the original on 16 March 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  8. ↑ "Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dail Debate 17 December 2002". Archived from the original on 23 November 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2006.
  9. ↑ "French Foreign Legion Association of Ireland". French Foreign Legion Association of Ireland. 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  10. ↑ MacCormaic, Ruadhan (8 October 2011). "The legion of extraordinary gentlemen". Dispatches. Irish Times . Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  11. ↑ Sunderland, Cairin (11 December 2017). "The Irish men of the French Foreign Legion". Features. Trinity News . Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  12. ↑ "Constitution of Ireland". Irish Statute Book . Art 29.4.9°. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  13. ↑ "Twenty-Sixth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 2002". Irish Statute Book . Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  14. ↑ "Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 2009". Irish Statute Book . Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  15. ↑ "Twenty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 2001 (No. 19 of 2001)". Bills. Oireachtas . Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  16. ↑ "Defence Act, 1954". Irish Statute Book . pp. Part IV Chapter III. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  17. ↑ "Defence (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1960". Irish Statute Book . Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015. replacing the temporary "Defence (Amendment) Act, 1960". Irish Statute Book . Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  18. ↑ "Defence (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 1960—Second Stage". Dáil Éireann debates. 7 December 1960. pp. Vol.185 No.6 p.7. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  19. ↑ "Defence (Amendment) Bill, 1960—Second and Subsequent Stages". Dáil Éireann debates. 20 July 1960. pp. Vol.183 No.14 p.39. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  20. 1 2 "Green paper on Defence". Dublin: Department of Defence. July 2013. pp. 2.6 Military Neutrality, 2.7 Overseas Deployments and the "Triple Lock". Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  21. ↑ "Defence (Amendment) Act, 1993". Irish Statute Book . Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  22. ↑ "Defence (Amendment) Act 2006". Irish Statute Book . Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  23. 1 2 3 Fanning 1982, p.27
  24. ↑ Fanning 1982, p.28
  25. ↑ Martin, F. X. (1968). "The 1916 Rising: A "Coup d'État" or a 'Bloody Protest'?". Studia Hibernica (8): 106–137. doi:10.3828/sh.1968.8.7. ISSN   0081-6477. JSTOR   20495897. S2CID   243122187.
  26. ↑ Childers, Erskine (July 1921). "Memorandum on Irish defence as affected by the British proposals of 20 July 1921". Documents on IRISH FOREIGN POLICY. Royal Irish Academy. pp. Vol. I No. 142. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  27. ↑ Johnson, Thomas (5 October 1922). "In Committee on the Constitution of Saorstát Eireann Bill. — Article 48". Dáil Éireann (3rd Dáil) debates. Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  28. ↑ "Spanish Civil War (Non-Intervention) Act, 1937". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  29. ↑ "S.I. No. 35/1937 – Spanish Civil War (Non-Intervention) Act, 1937 (Appointed Countries) Order, 1937". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  30. ↑ "Spain: International Committee for the Application of the Agreement Regarding Non-Intervention in Spain". The American Journal of International Law. 31 (4, Supplement: Official Documents): 163–179. October 1937. doi:10.2307/2213590. JSTOR   2213590. S2CID   246013596.
  31. ↑ O'Donoghue, Aoife (2010). "Neutrality and Multilateralism after the First World War". Journal of Conflict and Security Law. 15 (1): 169–202. doi:10.1093/jcsl/krp029.
  32. ↑ "S.I. No. 102/1939 - Merchant Shipping (Spanish Civil War) (Revocation) Order, 1939". Irish Statute Book. 27 April 1939. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  33. ↑ "Committee on Finance. – Vote 3—Department of the Taoiseach (Resumed)". Dáil Éireann debates. 15 July 1942. pp. Vol.88 No.6. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
  34. ↑ Roberts, Geoffrey; Girvin, Brian (2000). Ireland and the Second World War: Politics, Society and Remembrance. Four Courts Press. p. 178. ISBN   9781851824823.
  35. ↑ Gwynn, Stephen (January 1940). "Ireland and the War". Foreign Affairs. 18 (2): 305–313. doi:10.2307/20029000. JSTOR   20029000 . Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  36. ↑ Matthew McNamara, Matthew (2008). "The Challenge of the Irish Volunteers of World War II". K-Lines Internment Camp 1940–44. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  37. 1 2 Roberts, Geoffrey (2004). "The Challenge of the Irish Volunteers of World War II". Reform Movement. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  38. ↑ The Donegal Corridor and Irish Neutrality during World War Two. Archived 26 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine A Talk given by Joe O'Loughlin, Local Historian, of Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.
  39. ↑ Waite, John (27 December 2011). "Why Irish soldiers who fought Hitler hide their medals". BBC News . Retrieved 20 July 2012.
  40. ↑ Ireland in the War Years 1939 – 1940 – T.J. Carroll pg 117
  41. ↑ Carroll, (1975). Ireland in the War Years, page 176.
  42. ↑ "Politics.ie – The Irish Politics Website". Politics.ie. Archived from the original on 28 November 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  43. ↑ Fanning, Ronan (1979). "The United States and Irish Participation in Nato: The Debate of 1950". Irish Studies in International Affairs. 1 (1): 38–48: 38. JSTOR   30001704.
  44. ↑ Aide-mémoire to US State Department official on issue of NATO membership, 8 February 1949, National Archives of Ireland, File NAI DEA 305/74 a, Ireland and NATO
  45. ↑ Keane, E. (2004). "'Coming out of the Cave': The First Inter-Party Government, the Council of Europe and NATO". Irish Studies in International Affairs. 15: 167–190. doi:10.3318/ISIA.2004.15.1.167. JSTOR   30002085.
  46. ↑ Dáil Éireann, Volume 114, 23 February 1949, Oral Answers – Atlantic Pact, 324 (Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Atlantic Pact. Wednesday, 23 February 1949) http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1949022300018?opendocument Accessed 20150927
  47. ↑ "Ex Trinity student was CIA's Irish link, records show". Irish Times . 28 December 2007. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  48. ↑ Collins, Stephan (28 December 2007). "Lemass authorised aircraft searches during Cuban crisis (Front Page)". Irish Times . Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  49. ↑ Gallagher, Conor (8 May 2023). "Secret Anglo-Irish air defence agreement dates back to the Cold War era". The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  50. 1 2 FitzGerald, Garret (27 June 2014). "The origins, development, and present status of Irish 'neutrality"'". Ireland in the World: Further Reflections. Liberties Press. ISBN   9781909718777 . Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  51. ↑ "Defence Policy: Motion". Dáil Éireann (21st Dáil) debates. Oireachtas. 11 March 1981. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  52. 1 2 3 Department of Foreign Affairs (March 1996). "Agenda for Irish Foreign Policy" (PDF). Challenges and opportunities abroad : white paper on foreign policy. Official publications. Vol. Pn.2133. Dublin: Stationery Office. pp. 15–18.
  53. 1 2 "€3m spent on deploying Irish troops to Afghanistan". Irish Times . 8 June 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  54. ↑ "Irish Involvement in the Afghanistan War Has Cost Three Million Euros". Irish Examiner USA. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  55. ↑ "Foreign Conflicts: Motion". Dáil Éireann Debates. 20 March 2003. pp. Vol.563 No.3 p.5. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  56. ↑ "Horgan v. An Taoiseach". High Court of Ireland Decisions. BAILII. 28 April 2003. [2003] 2 IR 468, [2003] 2 ILRM 357, [2003] IEHC 64. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  57. ↑ O'Farrell, Michael (10 February 2006). "Legislation imminent for EU battle group role". Ireland. Irish Examiner. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
  58. ↑ National Forum on Europe (26 October 2006). Enda Kenny calls for Unified EU Approach to Immigration Archived 18 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved on 31 October 2007.
  59. ↑ Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions (KildareStreet.com): 27 Nov 2013, 12 Mar 2014, 18 Jun 2014, 3 Dec 2014, 18 Feb 2015, 17 Jun 2015, 15 Jul 2015
  60. ↑ Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions (February 2016). ". Recommendation of the Joint Committee" (PDF). Report on Petition P00072/12 "Investigation into US Military and CIA use of Shannon Airport and Irish Airspace" from Dr. Edward Horgan and Shannonwatch. Oireachtas. p. 4. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  61. ↑ "The Global Island : Ireland's Foreign Policy for a Changing World" (PDF). Dublin: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 13 January 2015. p. 29. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  62. ↑ Dept of Defence 2015 p.24
  63. ↑ Dept of Defence 2015 p.30
  64. ↑ Finn, Christina (7 December 2017). "'We're being asked to sell out our neutrality': Government accused of trying to rush EU defence deal vote". TheJournal.ie . Retrieved 24 April 2018.; Bielenberg, Kim (17 December 2017). "Explainer: Ireland joins PESCO... is it the start of an EU army?". Irish Independent . Retrieved 24 April 2018.; "European Council: Statements". Dáil debates. KildareStreet.com. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.; "Permanent Structured Cooperation". Seanad debates. KildareStreet.com. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2018.; Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence (6 December 2017). "Permanent Structured Cooperation: Motion". Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees. KildareStreet.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  65. 1 2
  66. ↑ Burns, Sarah (24 February 2022). "Ireland is 'not neutral', says Tánaiste as 70 Irish citizens remain in Ukraine". The Irish Times . Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  67. ↑ Murphy, David (27 February 2022). "Ireland 'constructively abstains' from EU arms package". RTÉ News. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  68. ↑ Loughlin, Elaine; Hosford, Paul (29 March 2022). "Government to oppose 'unnecessary' bill on holding neutrality referendum". Irish Examiner . Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  69. ↑ Hosford, Paul (8 June 2022). "Ireland needs to 'reflect' on military neutrality — Taoiseach". Irish Examiner . Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  70. ↑ Pepper, Diarmuid (24 March 2023). "Tánaiste Micheál Martin is 'developing proposals' around Ireland's neutrality". TheJournal.ie . Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  71. ↑ Webber, Jude. "Ireland opens debate on future of military neutrality". Financial Times . Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  72. ↑ Finn, Christina (5 April 2023). "Public forum examining Ireland's neutrality to be held in Dublin, Galway and Cork in June". TheJournal.ie . Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  73. ↑ O'Connor, Niall (18 June 2023). "Tánaiste defends forum as President claims Ireland is 'playing with fire' in neutrality 'drift'". TheJournal.ie . Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  74. ↑ Downing, John; McTaggart, Maeve (18 June 2023). "Tánaiste Micheál Martin strongly rebuffs comments by President Michael D Higgins on military neutrality and foreign policy 'drift'". Irish Independent . Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  75. ↑ Sherlock, Cillian; Black, Rebecca. "Tánaiste 'developing proposals around neutrality'". The Irish Times . Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  76. ↑ "Martin hits out at 'incoherent' protesters who were removed during forum speech in Cork". Irish Examiner . 22 June 2023.
  77. ↑ O'Halloran, Marie. "Ireland is not neutral about Ukraine, Taoiseach insists in renewed row over constitutional position". The Irish Times . Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  78. ↑ Forfás 2004, §2.4.1, 3.1.4, 6.3.1
  79. ↑ "S.I. No. 305/2009 – Control of Exports (Goods and Technology) Order 2009". Irish Statute Book. Dublin: Attorney General. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  80. ↑ "Control of Exports Act, 1983". Irish Statute Book. Dublin: Attorney General. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  81. 1 2 3 "Military Exports". Written answers. KildareStreet.com. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  82. ↑ "S.I. No. 216/2012 – Control of Exports (Goods and Technology) Order 2012". Irish Statute Book . Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  83. ↑ Forfás 2004, §§2.2.6, 3.10.3, 6.5.6
  84. ↑ Forfás 2004, pp.17–18

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.