The Neutrality Files

In Ireland, we are proud of our neutrality. It’s more than policy — it’s our promise to each other and to the world. Neutrality means we choose peace over war, independence over obedience to bodies like NATO and European army generals.

The Neutrality Files brings together detailed research and investigations into attempts by the arms industry, NATO states, and certain politicians to undermine and ultimately destroy our neutrality. 

Additional volumes will be published over the coming weeks.

You can read the Executive Summary of ‘The Price of Prosperity: How US FDI is Enabling Genocide in Gaza and Eroding Our Neutrality’ by Paulie Doyle, Patrick Bresnihan and Patrick Brodie here.

Uplift teamed up with researchers at The Ditch, Maynooth University, and University College Dublin to expose the extent to which Irish governments have actively protected the interests of US government foreign policy and how US corporations have acted as extensions of that influence. 

The research uncovers how the prioritisation of US corporate interests, via trade, foreign direct investment and economic planning has resulted in a dramatic increase in trade with Israel in recent years and the sidelining of hugely popular policy proposals such as the Occupied Territories Bill. This government is using its strategic position to strengthen US foreign policy priorities and, in the process, weaken Irish neutrality and push for greater militarisation.

Prioritisation of US interests is leading Ireland to deeper dependency on
US corporations and erosion of our precious neutrality and sovereignty.

• More militarisation justified by protecting corporate assets especially big tech.
• Even more trade with Israel. Trade with Israel €198 million in 2020 to €3.24 billion in 2024.
• Deeper integration into NATO and EU military activities.
• Less ability to speak, to act, to stand for anything that contradicts what the US and its foreign interests will tolerate.
• More of our energy and water will be consumed by data centers controlled by US corporations.
• Continued deprioritisation of indigenous economic development.

For generations, Irish peacekeepers have been known across the globe for bringing safety, stability, and hope – proof that our greatest strength lies in standing for peace.
But now, this government is trying to tear that promise apart.
By dismantling the Triple Lock, they’re stripping away the safeguard that protects us from being dragged into foreign wars.
Why are they doing it? Not to keep us safe. But to cosy up to NATO and EU military ambitions, and to hand power to corporations and arms dealers. Their motivation is profit and prestige: weapons makers see billions to be made from endless war, and politicians want to look strong on the world stage.
Our nation’s commitment to peace and neutrality is not a weakness to be abandoned, but a strength to be cherished and protected for future generations.
Former Irish soldiers and UN peacekeepers have written an open letter demanding the government leave the Triple Lock untouched.

Independent opinion polls show that the vast majority of people want to keep Irish neutrality, including 75% of Fianna Fáil’s own voters. People know that our neutrality makes us stronger, not weaker. We know our Defence Forces’ reputation as peacekeepers is worth defending. And we know our future must be shaped by cooperation, safety, and peace — not by following others into wars for profit or prestige.

The Triple Lock is our guarantee. It ensures no Irish troops are sent into conflict without rigorous checks and balances. It safeguards our independence. It protects our voice for peace.

Dr. Ed Horgan, former Army Commandant and peacekeeper:
“Our Government proposes to abandon the Triple Lock thereby undermining the vital role of the UN in maintaining international peace. This will mean that in the future Irish Defence Forces soldiers can be sent on very questionable overseas missions with so-called ‘Coalitions of the Willing’ including NATO and the EU. Such bogus peace missions have caused millions of deaths since 2001 in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and elsewhere.”

Sergeant Gerry Rooney, a former peacekeeper and general secretary of the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association (PDFORRA):
“Many young men and women joined the Defence Forces because of the UN and the values that it represents and especially because of ‘Blue Helmet’ peacekeeping. 

In 2019, the Dáil passed the Occupied Territories Bill with overwhelming support. The people backed it. The purpose was simple: ban trade with illegal settlements including those in Palestine.

Leaked documents reveal that from 2018, the Israeli government tracked this bill closely. They identified Ireland’s dependency on US multinationals as our vulnerability. Working with groups like The Lawfare Project, they crafted their strategy: threaten economic harm to US companies in Ireland by citing conflicts with American anti-boycott laws.

Privately, Irish ministers assured Israel they’d block the bill. Publicly, they claimed the EU would impose massive fines. When Attorney General Séamus Woulfe’s legal advice was published, it proved these financial threats were exaggerated lies.

In October 2024, new Attorney General Rossa Fanning provided fresh legal analysis. After the International Court of Justice ruled on Israel’s illegal occupation, he concluded there was now a “stronger and more defensible legal basis” for the bill. He acknowledged possible EU objections but argued Ireland could justify it on public policy grounds. His recommendation: make amendments, not abandon the bill.

Just days later, US Ambassador Claire Cronin delivered a warning: there would be “consequences” for US companies in Ireland if the bill proceeded.
Hours after that threat, Tánaiste Micheál Martin announced the bill would be shelved for “review” – directly contradicting the Attorney General’s advice that amendments were sufficient.

By February 2025, Martin delayed the bill indefinitely. Leaked documents later revealed he had deliberately misrepresented the Attorney General’s legal advice to justify government inaction.

The threats continue. Current US Ambassador Michael Huckabee keeps expressing “dissatisfaction” with any possibility of the bill passing – constantly reminding Ireland of “potential consequences.”

In addition to blocking the Occupied Territories Bill, this and the previous government have more directly facilitated Israel’s war effort:
At least ten commercial airlines have illegally transported weapons for Israel via through Irish airspace between 2023-2025.
Cargo onboard these flights included missile components and handguns en route to the Israeli military.

The Taoiseach admitted these were clear violations of Irish law carrying potential prison sentences yet has failed to act to prevent further violations.
Zero investigations. Zero penalties. Zero airlines banned.

Furthermore, the Irish Central Bank continued to facilitate the sale of Israeli bonds up until Sept 2025. These bonds have been advertised as explicitly funding Israel’s assault on Gaza.

All the while US warplanes have continued to land at Shannon airport, putting Ireland in a position where it has a direct connection with the US-Israeli war machine and continuing to undermine our neutrality without the consent of the Oireachtas.

Ireland became the world’s second-largest importer of Israeli goods in 2024. Trade exploded from €198 million in 2020 to €3.24 billion in 2024. Over €3 billion for electronic circuits – likely Intel funneling products from Israeli facilities through Ireland for tax advantages.

The US tech giants we’ve built our economy around are directly embedded in Israel’s war machine:

Project Nimbus: Google and Amazon’s $1.2 billion contract providing cloud services to the Israeli military and government. These services run through data centers in Ireland, the Netherlands, and Germany.

Mass Surveillance: Israel’s Unit 8200 uses Microsoft’s Azure platform, with data stored in Ireland, for a mass surveillance system recording millions of Palestinian phone calls daily. This intelligence is used to prepare airstrikes.

Arms Industry Partnerships: Amazon maintains deep relationships with Israeli weapons manufacturers, including Israel Aerospace Industries servicing Amazon’s cargo fleet since 2015.

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese said it plainly: These corporations are “embedded in an economy of genocide.” And these are the companies Ireland has made its economy depend on.

Perhaps the most insidious effect of dependency on corporate powers is what it’s done to Irish political culture. 

In the twisted framework that has become the norm, protecting American corporate profits becomes protecting Ireland. The two are no longer distinct. To question US investment is to question Ireland itself. To threaten Apple’s tax arrangements is to threaten Irish jobs, Irish prosperity, Irish identity.

And where does this logic lead? Infrastructure built for US tech giants now becomes the justification for our neutrality being dismantled piece by piece? Economic dependency morphs seamlessly into security dependency. We are being taken down a road which is leading Ireland into deeper integration into NATO structures – all in the name of protecting corporate profits.

Achieving an independent foreign policy that advances Ireland’s interests (distinct from those of the United States) demands nothing less than a fundamental restructuring of the Irish economy. 

Reducing dependency on US capital isn’t some nice-to-have foreign policy adjustment. It’s a democratic imperative. Because right now, Ireland’s democracy is a performance – the people vote, the Dáil passes bills, the public demands action, and then… nothing happens. The real decisions are being made in boardrooms in Silicon Valley and Washington.

Getting an independent foreign policy – where Ireland can actually oppose genocide when our leader names it, where majority will translates into action, where international law matters – requires fundamental restructuring our economy.

• Reducing dependency on US multinational corporations
• Building genuine sovereign industrial capacity
• Investing in infrastructure for Irish communities, not foreign tax avoidance
• Creating an economy serving Irish people, not global profit-shifting

This isn’t just foreign policy. This is about protecting democracy itself and ending the corporate takeover of Ireland.

We know that the vast majority of people in Ireland cherish our neutrality and want no part in US, Israeli or EU wars for profit. Knowing the information in The Neutrality Files is useless unless we act on it.

Traditionally Fianna Fáil have been the party in government championing Irish neutrality, but now the Fianna Fáil leadership are abandoning it, when we need it most.

Email your Fianna Fáil TDs right now and urge them not to lay down and accept the dismantlement of Irish neutrality.

The world needs neutral peacebrokers now, more than ever. If we all sit back and wait for someone else to act, our neutrality will be lost forever.