Independent Senator Gerard Graughwell is taking the legal action aimed at having the agreement declared unconstitutional as it has never been approved by the Dáil, The Irish Times reports.

The agreement was a response to the Cold War and dates back to the early 1950s, but has been regularly renewed and updated since then.

Article 29.5.1 of the Irish Constitution states: “Every international agreement to which the State becomes a party shall be laid before Dáil Éireann.”

However, Article 29.5.3 further states that this requirement “shall not apply to agreements or conventions of a technical and administrative character”.

Government officials are said to believe that the agreement with the UK does not need to be put to the Dáil as it falls under this provision.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) website states: “Although agreements of a technical and administrative character are excluded from this requirement by article 29.5.3, it is our practice to lay such agreements [before Dáil Éireann] also.”

A spokesperson for the DFA told The Irish Times that it does not comment on national security matters but acts with “full respect for Irish sovereign decision-making authority and for Ireland’s long-standing policy of military neutrality”.