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IRELAND’S POLICY OF military neutrality was one of the biggest talking points of the Lisbon treaty referendum back in 2008 (and then again in 2009 when the public went to the polls for a second time).
This revolved around the formation of a common security and defence policy, as set out in Article 42, with talk of what appeared to be a common European Union military jarring with the people’s usual expectation of our Defence Forces.
This week, Article 42 was invoked for the first time, namely section 7:
If a Member State is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other Member States shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power, in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
French president Francois Hollande initiated this on Monday following last week’s terror attacks in Paris, and it received the unanimous backing of EU defence ministers – including Simon Coveney – yesterday.
The official EU request said that France is asking its European partners for their bilateral support “in the fight against Daesh (Islamic State) in Iraq and Syria”, but also “increased participation in other theatres”.
Article 42.7 is similar to, but not as powerful as, Nato’s Article 5, which means an attack on one nation is an attack on all, and was invoked by the United States following 9/11.
While Ireland has supported France’s call for help, this doesn’t mean Defence Forces troops will be on the ground in Syria fighting against Islamic State.
This is because of an important caveat to Article 29:
This shall not prejudice the specific character of the security and defence policy of certain Member States.
That means Ireland’s policy of neutrality will be respected, but does that mean we can sit back and do nothing?
Minister Simon Coveney told RTÉ’s Six One last night that a number of options are available that will suit Ireland’s neutrality.
He said this is likely to consist of two main areas.
More details will be finalised in the days to come. French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Paris would now have talks with individual EU nations to see what help they could offer.
“I felt a lot of emotion from my colleagues” over the Paris attacks claimed by the Islamic State group which left 129 people dead, Le Drian said, adding that many of his counterparts had addressed him personally in French to pay their respects.
Britain swiftly said it had offered bilateral aid and would “stand ready to consider any French requests”.
In a further show of solidarity, the EU signalled leniency on its tough budget rules after France warned it would not meet its deficit obligations as it steps up security following the attacks.
“The rules of the stability pact do not stop member states from defining their priorities. We understand that the priority is security,” EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told a news conference.
“It is in that spirit that we are in discussions with the French government.”
Additional reporting by AFP
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€462 less 33% Dirt = €103 per year or €2 er week.
Seriously, how is anyone arguing that €2 per week on €10,000 put away for 3 years is actually a good deal when inflation will be over 2% for the same period.
I get that people dislike Irish banks but this isn’t the correct issue to be highlighting- it just perpetuates the appalling levels of financial illiteracy we have in this country.
Encouraging people to make a less %hitty decision is not good financial advice.
Deposit rates will never beat inflation over the longer term, the entire global financial system is set up to ensure this.
Why not educate people about the benefits of choosing a well diversified low cost investment and actually grow the value of their savings rather than fool them into thinking that 2.46% gross is a good deal.
It’s not – it’s lousy.
@Wombleman: We need to. Its the future of how we earn money when jobs are no longer necessary
@Wombleman: Well said. Not worth the bother moving it, or the ball ache of reporting DIRT….. that’s why deposits are in current not savings accounts
@RC247: that makes no financial sense when moving it actually saves your money eroding with inflation. Irish banks are scamming you & making money off you by doing so!
@Wombleman: The vast majority of people are never going invest in that way. Most don’t even move their money into an account with a higher interest rate. The banks are making money by sticking peoples money on deposit with the ECB and ripping the average saver off. It should not be allowed.
Just moved my BOI, PTSB and An Post savings to TFBank at 3.90% fixed for 1 year.
We desperately need a tax free savings & investments scheme just like the UK ISA system, the Canadian TFSA system or the (unfortunately named) US IRA savings vehicle. In the UK, residents can deposit up to £10,000/yr and earn interest free from tax.
@MTB Mayo: …sorry, it’s actually £20,000/yr now!
Why would anyone think that a bank will do anything other than take their money?
I dont understand why people are still using Irish banks. It is easy enough to open non-resident accounts in other European countries and avail of better customer service, better rates, and lower fees. Also part of the instant SEPA system unlike the Irish banks which are the only EU country yet to sign up to the protocol because the Irish banks deem it “too costly” to upgrade the technological infrastructure. I think the EU deadline was 2021, yet the Irish banks project it will be 2027 until they can partake in the system.
@Niall English: I thought Ireland was a full SEPA member… Do the Irish banks not ‘play the game’?
I didn’t encounter any problems moving my direct debits to a GB or LT Revolut account before it became IE, both with utilities and with credit card, loans, etc.
@Jerry LeFrog: they are a member of SEPA but they do not have capability of the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer Protocol e.g, instant transfer in 10 seconds. Irish bank transfers still take one working day. Its archaic stuff, technological infrastructure needs a serious upgrade and they complain they dont have the funding for this. Be nice to get into the 21st century banking. They were hoping this would be solved with that app they were going to launch together (BOI, AIB, and PTSB) but that got canned a few months ago.
F the Irish banking cartel!
To make money you need money. If you your family and mates can afford a min 100 euro each a month , you better of collectively putting into one investment pot where yous are all equal holders.
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