Taoiseach and McDonald clash over Triple Lock removal

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Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald have clashed over the potential deployment of Irish troops to Lebanon amid renewed debate over the Government's…

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald have clashed over the potential deployment of Irish troops to Lebanon amid renewed debate over the Government's plans to remove the Triple Lock.

Ms McDonald used her Dáil time during Leaders' Questions for the second successive day to call for a referendum on the Coalition's proposal.

The Triple Lock only allows the deployment of more than 12 members of the Defence Forces overseas when it has been agreed by the Government, the Dáil and the UN.

The Government hopes to enact contentious legislation to facilitate its removal by the end of the year.

The debate in the Dáil comes on the eve of the European Political Community summit in Dublin tomorrow - with the Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte among those scheduled to attend.

Ms McDonald claimed the Government "wants to get rid of the Triple Lock to allow the deployment of Irish soldiers on an EU-led mission to Lebanon"

"Not a peacekeeping mission, but a partisan intervention in one of the most fraught and dangerous parts of our world.

"You want to change Ireland's role from peacekeeper in Lebanon ... to instead deploy them as part of an EU mission to act in the interests of Israel in disarming Hezbollah," she told the Dáil.

Speaking as Gaeilge, Mr Martin claimed Ms McDonald's presentation was "unbelievable" and did not represent the truth.

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