Ireland ends deployment as UN Security Council fails to renew mandate on Mediterranean mission

IRELAND WILL END its involvement with a European anti-arms smuggling naval mission in the Mediterranean because of an Irish government block on participation in missions without a UN Security Council mandate.

Operation Irini is focused on stopping weapons from getting into the hands of groups in war torn Libya. The blockade is maintained by aircraft surveillance and naval ships with Irish involvement at the force headquarters in Italy.

The Journal has visited the headquarters of the mission in Rome and reported on the work of the small team of Irish personnel stationed there. 

Today Helen McEntee, minister for defence and foreign affairs, on a visit to the Italian capital, said she regretted that Ireland would no longer participate. 

Irini is an initiative under the European Union Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Such was the controversy surrounding involvement in CSDP that the government set out a need for it to comply with the Triple Lock mechanism, which limits deployment of Irish military personnel abroad.

The triple lock means that Ireland would need a UN mandate, cabinet approval and a vote in the Dáil to send troops abroad.

There are four Irish Defence Forces members in Rome working on Irini. Generally, anything under 12 personnel does not require the triple lock mechanism, but the government imposed the measure to soothe concerns around the CSDP.

“It is a matter of deep regret that the United Nations Security Council mandate for Operation Irini has been allowed to lapse without renewal,” McEntee said. 

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It is understood that France was the so-called “pen holder” for the mandate. Irini is due to transform to a focus on the Russian Shadow Fleet. Sources said France did not move to renew at the UN Security Council because it would have been vetoed by Russia.

The Irish involvement was not just limited to the four personnel in Rome; in 2023, LÉ William Butler Yeats was deployed to the Mediterranean. 

“Unfortunately, and despite clear support among Member States and the European External Action Service for the continuation of Operation IRINI, the absence of a UN mandate means Ireland cannot continue to participate, thus requiring the withdrawal of Defence Forces personnel from the mission, as I advised the Dáil earlier this month.

“This situation and the necessity to withdraw Defence Forces personnel from this mission illustrates clearly the constraints in which we have to operate because of the requirements of the Triple Lock,” she added. 

McEntee repeated her assertion that the UN Security Council should not be part of Ireland’s decision-making on deploying troops. 

The opposition, including Sinn Féin, is opposed to Ireland dropping the Triple Lock, while the government is set to push through legislation that would reduce the mechanism to cabinet approval and a vote of the Dáil.

Separately, during her visit, McEntee also signed an agreement with Italy for a defence “Government to Government” procurement strategy.

This would quicken the pace of purchases of equipment for the Irish Defence Forces. There is a similar agreement with France. 

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