An Irish MEP has criticised the government's intention to bring forward legislation to scrap the triple lock on overseas troop deployments. Lynn Boylan, Sinn Féin MEP for Dublin, said the move was reckless and would remove a key safeguard for Irish neutrality.

Boylan, who is Ireland's only member of the European Parliament's security committee, said scrapping the triple lock would leave decisions on deploying Irish troops entirely to the government. She claimed the government had shown it could not withstand pressure from the EU and US on foreign affairs.

She said there was an intense focus on militarisation in the EU at present, and that the triple lock acted as a fireguard against pressure to abandon neutrality altogether. Boylan said polling consistently showed Irish people valued neutrality and wanted it protected.

Earlier this year, the government faced pressure from its own TDs over plans to scrap the triple lock. Boylan urged all TDs in the Dáil to make clear to the government that this was a dangerous path and should not be followed.