“International Security Consultative Forum” a sham. A pretence of listening to the people! 

Statement Communist Party of Ireland 

MONDAY 26th JUNE 2023: 

 The Government’s “Consultative Forum” rolls into Dublin today after its Cork and Galway sessions, meandering through the thoughts of aging generals, representatives of numerous think tanks financed by various foreign military intelligence agencies, and recipients of imperial honours.  

The aim of the forum is to continue the process of attempting to condition tolerance among the Irish people for a sharp break with this state’s traditional position of neutrality. While actually joining NATO may be their long-term objective, what is clearly under fire, and most critically at stake, is the “triple lock” regarding the deployment of Irish military personnel overseas.  

The removal of the triple lock would allow the Government to decide unilaterally which military operations it would back with logistical and military support.  

Government wants to drop any reference to a UN mandate for such deployment and to disregard the United Nations completely—which is in line with US policy regarding Iraq, Afghanistan, and other catastrophic adventures. The Irish state is already working behind the scenes with NATO and backing deeper EU militarisation in the form of PESCO.  

Achieving the goal of global security and world peace requires demilitarisation and massive cuts in military spending globally. Demilitarisation and peace are also an essential element of tackling climate change. Military spending needs to be redirected to social and economic development and to securing global economic justice. It is this inequality that lies at the heart of global instability.  

The Communist Party of Ireland, and a wide range of democratic opinion, fully supports neutrality and will work with others towards further strengthening the triple lock.  

• We demand a protocol recognising Irish neutrality in the next EU treaty. 

• The Government, regardless of its composition, must return to a position of seeking global nuclear disarmament through the United Nations and other international bodies. 

• Enshrining neutrality in Bunreacht na hÉireann and inserting a protocol recognising Irish neutrality in all EU treaties is the only guarantor that would prevent the youth of Ireland dying on foreign  battlefields defending the interests of global industrial and mining corporations

Today in Dublin the CPI carried out a number of actions to highlight our call for the defence of the triple lock and demanding the enshrinement of neutrality in the constitution. Our banner on the Halfpenny Bridge carries the slogan and demand promoted by James Connolly over a century ago, and a long-held position of the Irish labour movement: “We serve neither King nor Kaiser, but Ireland,” or, in the world of today, “We serve neither London, Brussels nor Washington but the Irish working class.”