We, the undersigned citizens of Ireland, formally call on Taoiseach Micheál Martin to resign from office with immediate effect. This petition is about a Government that has changed its position on Irish neutrality, answered public anger with half-measures and force, and no longer holds the consent of the people it governs.

I. NEUTRALITY AND THE TRIPLE LOCK
Last week the Government used its majority to pass legislation removing the triple lock. The Dáil voted 79 to 71 to end the requirement for UN approval of peacekeeping deployments. Opposition parties complained that the debate was cut short, and the Taoiseach was repeatedly reminded that he had previously called the triple lock “at the heart of Ireland’s neutrality.” This is a “profound betrayal” of the people of Ireland. 

Former President Michael D. Higgins has warned that Ireland risks “sliding” into losing its neutrality if the triple lock is removed. President Catherine Connolly has said the triple lock is at the core of Irish neutrality and that there should be a referendum. The Taoiseach says Ireland has “no intention of joining NATO,” and he dismisses the idea of replacing the Security Council with a General Assembly vote as “not realistic at all.” 

If neutrality is secure, the Government should have no reason to avoid asking the people. A change of this size to Ireland’s place in the world must go to a referendum. Neutrality is being rewritten by incremental decision in Dublin and Brussels rather than by democratic consent.

II. THE FUEL CRISIS: A PROBLEM DEFERRED, NOT SOLVED
In April, farmers, hauliers and families took to the roads over fuel costs. The Government’s response was to call it “an act of national sabotage” and to ask the Defence Forces to help gardaí clear blockades. The Government says this was a lawful aid to the civil power at critical infrastructure. Many citizens saw it as the State answering protest with force before it answered the cost of living. 

III. TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION: NGO FUNDING AND IPAS
The working people of Ireland are taxed heavily while watching public funds directed toward purposes for which they never voted. State funding to NGOs has reached an estimated €11 billion annually. Critically, the independent monitoring body, Benefacts, was defunded by the Government in 2021 and never replaced. This leaves the public with no systematic way to audit these expenditures, creating a circular funding model where the State funds NGOs to advocate for State policies.

IV. FOREIGN SPENDING, THE IPAS SYSTEM, AND IRISH CITIZENS AS SECOND-CLASS
Ireland has committed hundreds of millions in support related to Ukraine and other foreign wars. At the same time, the International Protection Accommodation Service continues to cost the State billions of euros, with the great majority of places provided at significantly inflated costs. It's morphed into an industry rife with corruption. Ireland remains among the most expensive OECD countries for these arrangements. Private contractors have become overnight millionaires; with many elected representatives have benefited.

Meanwhile, Irish families remain on long social housing waiting lists, face soaring rents, and see hotels and community facilities prioritised for new arrivals. A growing number of citizens feel they are being treated as second-class in their own country: paying the taxes, waiting for housing and services, while political energy and public resources are directed elsewhere. When they voice these concerns they are too often dismissed rather than heard, or labelled a bigot or racist. 

V. ESCALATING VIOLENT CRIME AND THE FAILURE TO PROTECT COMMUNITIES
While political attention is consumed by EU agendas and international commitments, many Irish communities face rising drug crime, higher levels of gun crime, increased robberies and endemic drug-related intimidation and arson. Official figures show controlled drug offences climbing, gun crime indicators at multi-year highs in some categories, and persistent violence that leaves ordinary citizens feeling less safe.

Organised crime networks operate with growing confidence. Visible, effective policing remains inconsistent. The State has shown greater urgency in confronting fuel protesters than in restoring order and safety on the streets and in estates across the country.

VI. A GOVERNMENT THAT SERVES BRUSSELS BEFORE IRELAND
On energy, migration, foreign policy, defence posture and budgetary priorities, this Government consistently aligns with the European Commission and EU institutional agendas ahead of the clear preferences of the Irish electorate.

Micheál Martin has devoted significant political capital to Ireland’s EU Presidency priorities—competitiveness agendas, the long-term EU budget, support for Ukraine, enlargement, and advancing European security and defence collaboration. Domestic crises, the cost of living for working families, the housing emergency, rising violent crime, and the defence of neutrality receive secondary attention. Sovereignty is being surrendered through political compliance rather than democratic choice. The Irish people did not elect a government to act as efficient managers of EU policy in Ireland; they elected one to put Ireland first.

 

OUR DEMANDS
We call on the Government to:

• Request that the Taoiseach resigns with immediate effect.
• Engage in honest dialogue with citizens rather than dismissing their concerns.
• Commission a full, independent public audit of State NGO funding and IPAS expenditure.
• Halt the dismantling of the Triple Lock without a referendum and reaffirm genuine Irish military neutrality.
• Prioritise the safety, housing and economic security of Irish citizens over EU institutional ambitions and commercial migrant accommodation contracts.
• Reassert Irish sovereignty in all dealings with EU institutions.

The people of Ireland deserve a government that listens, faces the public, and serves the national interest - not one that treats native citizens as an afterthought while advancing the priorities of Brussels.