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Ireland - Foreign Relations

From earliest times, Ireland has been reaching out to the world. Ireland’s Catholic Missionaries founded many Churches and centres of learning in Europe during the sixth and seventh centuries, St. Brendan the Navigator sailed to Iceland and, some claim, America. Whether it be through missionaries or merchants, sailors or soldiers, like the Wild Geese serving in the armies of France, Spain, Russia and Austria or those who, in later centuries served in the armies and navies of Argentina, Chile and Mexico, whether it be through her artists and writers, sportsmen and women or through aid workers and engineers, Ireland has a long tradition of engagement with the rest of the world.

The constitution of Ireland affirms Ireland’s strong commitment to the ideal of peace and friendly cooperation among nations founded on international justice and morality. Ireland’s foreign policy is based on this conviction. The Irish policy of Active Neutrality envisions a non-aligned Ireland acting as a bridge between the developed and developing world. The Government of Ireland is extremely proud of its peacekeeping contributions.

The well-known "triple lock" policy of the Irish government provides for deployment of armed Irish forces only under a UN resolution and with approval of the government and parliament, a long process that could be inconsistent with "rapid response." There are also restrictions on joint training Irish forces can do (absent a UN resolution) and on foreign troops training on Irish soil. The Irish are positively disposed to participate in an EU battle group, but were not planning to do so imminently in any case for political and legal reasons.

Ireland was neutral in World War II. World War II was the defining event of the twentieth century, in which the Allies were the champions of freedom against the tyranny of the Axis powers. How to understand Irish neutrality during a war that made moral claims and compelled taking a stand? Irish neutrality derived from Ireland's recent independence and complex relationship with Britain. During World War II the intransigent neutrality of the Irish Free State constituted a threat to the British lines of communication, but Ireland was not central to pre-war British military planning. The Germans attacked Ireland on a few occasions, including the famous bombing run on Dublin in 1941, though these attacks seemed intended discourage the Irish from abandoning neutrality or from becoming more friendly towards the Allies. Most of the Irish population realised that a British victory would be more beneficial, and Ireland repeatedly helped the Allies. The Irish government did not try to stop Irish citizens from going to work in British war industry, or to stop men deserting the Irish army to join the British forces seeking more action and more money. The IRA, being thoroughly anti-British, clearly favored a German victory; but it was marginalized after the internment of its members during the war. Taoiseach (Prime Minister) de Valera believed that Ireland was a small state that had no role in power politics, and that Ireland had no hope of defending herself were she to enter the war.

Neutrality doomed Ireland to isolation in the early years of the Cold War period, resulting in Ireland experiencing economic stagnation, which only began to be alleviated once Sean Lemass became Taoiseach, from 1959 to 1966. Lemass planned the establishment of the Irish air services and construction of the international airports, revival of the mercantile marine, reorganisation of road and rail transport, founding of the turf industry, expansion of the tourist trade, reformation of the insurance business, extension of the electricity and sugar enterprises, and the entire campaign to give the Irish economy an efficient industrial arm.

The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 severed Ireland's last formal links with Britain. Ireland was admitted to the United Nations (UN) in 1955, and joined what is now the European Union (EU) in 1973. New economic development policies led to substantial and rapid growth. As elsewhere in Europe coalition governments have become quite common and have normally involved one of the two larger political parties.

In the 1980s and 1990s when Ireland desperately needed the kind of infrastructure that would eventually make a first-world economy it was largely European money that helped start to build it. Crucially, membership of the EU gave Ireland economic independence from Britain. Our near neighbour lost its ability to dictate Ireland 's level and range of exports. Suddenly Ireland had valuable new markets for our products. We had, potentially, over 370 million new customers for Irish goods.

The conflict in Northern Ireland stemmed from a history of British rule, historical animosity between Catholics and Protestants, and the various armed and political attempts to unite Northern Ireland with the rest of the island. "Nationalist" and "Republican" groups seek a united Ireland, while "Unionists" and "Loyalists" want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom. The growth of business investment and confidence in Northern Ireland following the cessation of widespread violence benefited the Republic of Ireland. The 1998 ratification of the Good Friday Agreement by large majorities in both Ireland and Northern Ireland diminished the potential for violence. Although groups in Northern Ireland opposed to the peace process have continued to commit infrequent acts of criminality, there have been no serious incidents in the Republic of Ireland.

As a small country in a changing world, Ireland remains firmly committed to collective approaches to international relations and security based on the primacy of the charter of the United nations. Key principles underlying this commitment are respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law. Ireland seeks to pursue these core objectives in cooperation with regional and bilateral partners and through its membership of international organisations, in particular its membership of the United nations and of the European Union.

Ireland joined the United Nations on 14 December 1955. Within the UN, Ireland has sought to promote effective international action on global issues such as disarmament, peace-keeping, human rights and development. Ireland’s most recent term on the UN Security Council in 2001–2002 reinforced its commitment to working with the wider UN membership for international peace and security. This commitment is reflected in the continuous participation in UN peace keeping operations by Irish Defence and Police Forces since 1958. Our commitment to the UN is also reflected in the substantial contributions Ireland is making to UN Funds and Programmes. Ireland is also a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court, established by the international community through the adoption of the Rome Statute in 1998.

Ireland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) on 1 January 1973 and has participated actively in the evolution of what is now the European Union (EU). EU membership is pivotal to Government policy. It is a central framework within which the Government pursues its foreign policy objectives. Ireland’s membership of the European Union is rooted in an understanding that the Union is the cornerstone of political and economic stability in europe. Ireland has held the six-month rotating Presidency of the council of the European Union on six occasions, in 1975, 1979, 1984, 1990, 1996 and 2004. The 2004 presidency was widely praised internationally and saw the accession of ten new Member states to the European Union: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. On 1 January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania became the latest states to accede to the EU, increasing the total number of Member states to 27.

The Prime Minister's top foreign policy goal is Irish ratification of the EU constitution. But by a surprisingly large margin, on 13 June 2008 Irish voters rejected the EU Lisbon Treaty by 53.7 percent to 46.3 percent. Proponents were not able to adequately explain a complex, hard-to-understand document, counter snazzy opposition sound-bites, or overcome complacency among those inclined to support the Treaty but who stayed home. The margin of the 'No' vote was surprising high given that most of the political parties, trade unions, employers' organizations, and farmers' associations endorsed it. Ireland was on the cusp of becoming the only EU Member State to reject it.

After the "no" vote in the referendum, the government went back to its EU partners and received assurances, separate from the Treaty itself, that Lisbon would not call into question Irish prerogatives in the areas deemed most important to voters: Irish military neutrality, taxation, the right to life, education and the family, and the protection of workers, rights. Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen reached an accord with the European Council whereby Ireland will hold a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty by the end of October 2009 in exchange for "legally binding guarantees" from the European Council on matters of concern to the Irish electorate.

In a resounding victory for the "yes" side, the results of the 02 October 2009 referendum on the Lisbon Treaty came in at 67.1 percent for "yes" and 32.9 percent for "no." The turnout was also higher this time, at 59 percent compared to 53.1 percent in June 2008.

Irish voters approved the European Union's new treaty to control government spending in the continent's only referendum on the issue on 31 May 2012. The government said more than 60 percent of those voting supported the pact that eventually was likely to impose new government deficit limits throughout the 17-nation bloc that uses the euro currency. Twelve countries need to ratify the treaty for it to take effect, but parliaments are considering it in all countries except Ireland.

Irish Aid is the Government of Ireland’s official programme of assistance to developing countries. The Irish Aid programme is administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Ireland has had an official development assistance programme since 1974. It has grown steadily over the years from modest beginnings and is now approximately €670 million per year. The Government is committed to reaching the United Nations target of spending 0.7% of GNP on Official Development Assistance (ODA).

More than one million Irish citizens are currently living abroad, and it is estimated that as many as 70 million people worldwide can claim Irish descent. The largest emigrant communities have consistently lived in Britain and the United States. Irish citizens have also been an influential presence in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Southern Africa.

The high priority and value that the Government attaches to the diaspora is reflected in the substantial funding it provides to support Irish community, cultural and heritage projects across the world. Supporting a wider range of initiatives across a greater geographic range than ever before, the Government actively recognizes the tremendous contributions the Irish abroad continue to make, both to Ireland and to their adopted countries.

Dublin demanded promises from London that there will be no hard border with the North, and they firmly believe that remaining in the single market is the only way to guarantee that. London pledged to avoid border posts between the EU-member Republic of Ireland and the UK country of Northern Ireland after Brexit. Questions remained as to how Britain plans to police the "frictionless" border.

Britain's International Trade Minister Liam Fox said 26 NOvember 2017 the UK would not resolve the Irish border issue until it has agreed a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK. Fox told broadcaster Sky News that it would be impossible to discuss the border while the UK's future relationship with the bloc remains unclear. "We don't want there to be a hard border but the United Kingdom is going to be leaving the customs union and the single market," he said. "We can't get a final answer to the Irish question until we get an idea of the end state, and until we get into discussions with the European Union on the end state that will be very difficult."