Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will cite UNIFIL as one of the perfect examples. If we had not participated in the training missions, the battle group training and so on over the past number of years and sent members of the Defence Forces to UNIFIL, military personnel and management assure me, we should not have been participating in it.

I refer to having the necessary training, looking at like-minded states and the complexity of threats now compared with what they were in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. The equipment used by countries that may be threatening the country we are protecting may be second to none. We must be able to participate in battle groups and support the development of rapid deployment skills and capabilities within the Defence Forces, along with improved interoperability with other like-minded states. Ireland's participation in EU battle groups also reflects Ireland's support for the UN, where successive Secretaries General have endorsed the development of the EU battle group concept and Ireland's participation therein. These Secretaries General in the UN have seen the importance of countries like Ireland being able to develop skills and capabilities. They do this by working with other like-minded states in training, with battle groups being one of the training missions in which we are able to gain invaluable experience.

Ireland's active engagement in EU battle groups demonstrates Ireland's commitment to the development of EU capabilities in the crisis management area. Deputies have mentioned crisis management, which is about humanitarian peace enforcement and peacekeeping. We could argue about the meaning of crisis management but I will not get into that now. It includes a myriad of-----