Sinn Féin accuses government of attempting to ‘dismantle’ triple lock

By Cate McCurry and Rebecca Black, PA

The government has a “clear intention” to “dismantle” provisions of the triple lock, the Sinn Féin leader said, after it was confirmed that Ireland will join an alliance of European nations that shares intelligence on potential threats in EU sea waters.

Tánaiste Simon Harris announced on Monday that he has approved plans to join the Common Information Sharing Environment to allow for “more effective” operations at sea and deal with maritime threats.

The Fine Gael leader, who is also Minister for Foreign Affairs, said he is “confident” of the benefits of joining the alliance.

CISE shares maritime surveillance information among EU and EEA countries, and aims to respond to threats at sea, including physical and cyber-attacks on infrastructure and drug trafficking.

It allows agencies from different countries to share data securely.

Mary Lou McDonald said she is “deeply concerned” by the government’s direction of travel.

She said Sinn Féin will go “toe-to-toe” in defending the triple lock.

Speaking in Belfast on Monday, Ms McDonald called on the Tánaiste to provide “clarity” as to the mechanics of the alliance and the extent of information exchanged.

“I absolutely accept that we have an issue around the surveillance of our seas,” she added.

“There is no question about that. Very disgracefully, successive governments have allowed that to slip. We need active surveillance of our seas, and that’s a very important element, by the way, of protecting our position as a non-aligned and a military neutral.

“I want to hear more about this arrangement. The Dáil isn’t in session for the next couple of weeks, but I have no doubt that the Tánaiste will face, and the Taoiseach will face, questioning on these matters, and they have to set out very clearly for the Irish people what is envisaged, what commitments will be made.

“Let me say this, anything that impinges on our status, on our role as non-aligned, as military neutrals, cannot and should not be countenanced.”