Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I very much agree with the principal decision taken by the Heads of Government at the December meeting of the European Council to begin accession negotiations with Turkey. Given the progress the Turkish Government has made in terms of meeting the political and economic conditions set at the Copenhagen summit, it would have been very unfair if the European Union had not decided to begin the negotiating process.

I would not underestimate, however, the scale of this challenge. While Turkey has undertaken a large degree of change in recent years, it remains to be seen how deep these changes run. For example, a raft of new legislation has been enacted but there are serious questions about the extent to which these new laws are being implemented. Similarly, on the human rights front, some progress has been made but there are still many steps which need to be taken if Turkey is to be accepted as a fully democratic country.

Notwithstanding these challenges and difficulties, I am very hopeful that the accession negotiations, which may last ten years or more, will help to bring about the necessary changes so that Turkey can be brought to the point where European Union membership is a real possibility.

The other European Union related issue that I want to deal with in this contribution is the ongoing chaos and confusion within Government regarding the implications of the Government's insistence on maintaining the triple-lock mechanism. Last month, we had the chaotic situation where the Minister for Defence seemed to have no clear idea as to whether Irish troops could be sent to assist in the relief effort following the tsunami disaster in south-east Asia. His original position was that a specific UN Security Council resolution was required. Within a couple of days, his view was reversed to say that he was satisfied no such resolution was required. He then declared that the Cabinet had decided that if his legal interpretation was wrong, the Dáil would be recalled to authorise the sending of Irish troops to amend the Defence Act if necessary. In the end, the best the Government could do was send a four-man team to assist the UN logistical operation in Sri Lanka.

The situation has reached comical proportions in recent days with the Minister for Defence claiming that there were constitutional impediments to our Defence Forces participating in the new EU battle groups, which are specifically designed to respond quickly to crises. Just a few days ago, the position of the Minister, Deputy O'Dea, was completely contradicted by the Minister for Foreign Affairs who offered the view that there are no constitutional difficulties but that there are legal obstacles. The Minister for Foreign Affairs indicated that he is of the opinion that the Defence Acts should be amended to facilitate Irish involvement.

If that is the case, I welcome this complete U-turn. Fine Gael has consistently argued that the current triple-lock mechanism is much too rigid and inflexible for today's world. Just a few weeks ago, my colleague, Deputy Timmins, and I, with the approval of the Minister for Defence, had the honour and pleasure of spending two and a half days visiting the Irish Defence Forces personnel who are working as part of the KFOR peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. There we had an opportunity to see at first hand the wonderful work being done by the 208 Irish men and women currently assigned to this mission. They are not only keeping the peace in their area of responsibility south of Pristina with total professionalism but are also utilising that unique Irish capacity to get along with people and win the confidence and respect of the local population.

During my visit, I held meetings with political leaders from both communities in Kosovo, the Kosovo Albanians and the Serb minority. The divisions between these communities are very deep but the one view they held in common was recognition of the very positive role being played by the Irish troops and their appreciation that our forces are in Kosovo for the sole purpose of improving people's lives.

One other critical aspect of the work of the Irish Defence Forces in Kosovo is less well known. It is the tremendous humanitarian assistance they give to the local population. For this purpose, they receive just €25,000 per contingent and they are required to go through incredible levels of bureaucracy to draw down this modest allocation. The result of this low level of Government support is that the troops have to fund-raise to support the very valuable projects they are undertaking. For example, those who were lucky enough to get home for leave at Christmas volunteered to bring back toys for local children. They organised sports days and other cultural activities to bring children from the divided communities together.

I highlight this work because of its importance in demonstrating to the indigenous population of Kosovo that the KFOR mission generally, and the Irish involvement in particular, is a positive and constructive source of security and help for the people of Kosovo. I ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs to examine the bureaucratic requirements to draw down very modest funds to allow Irish Army personnel to deliver real benefit in a local sense on small issues which involve no administrative costs. They just do the work but they have to fund-raise themselves.

For example, during my time in Kosovo, we visited a 62 year old local woman who had been living in a makeshift tent with no electricity or heating in freezing winter temperatures until the Irish Army provided her with a properly equipped and heated Weatherhaven portable shelter. This is just one illustration of the excellent humanitarian work being provided by our troops which is very much a true reflection of the generosity of this nation. I hope this work will attract much greater financial and political support from the Government in the future. Those who write about these issues would do well to visit Kosovo to witness the work being done by the Irish Army, particularly in Serbian enclaves where there are serious tensions. These enclaves are literally tinderboxes.

One of the most striking elements supporting the Fine Gael position on the need to amend the triple lock mechanism exists next to Kosovo in Macedonia. There is an EU-led peacekeeping mission in Macedonia similar to the KFOR mission in Kosovo. Owing to the fact that China vetoed a proposed UN Security Council mandate for this mission because Macedonia had recognised Taiwan, Irish troops are debarred from participating. Thus we have the truly ridiculous situation where we are blocked by the Chinese regime from participating in an EU-led mission in an eastern European country while we have no difficulty in participating in the NATO-led mission in Kosovo which was not vetoed by China.

Members of the Irish Defence Forces are willing and able to play a part in helping keep the peace in Europe and elsewhere if they are set free from the shackles of the triple lock mechanism. Fine Gael wants to see these changes made so that in future we can decide as a mature sovereign state what role we should play in the world. I would like to see the requirement for Cabinet and Dáil approval remaining in place. In future, however, decisions should be examined on a case-by-case basis with a view to participating in some missions which might not have a specific UN mandate, provided these missions are consistent with the United Nations Charter. A change to the Defence Acts would allow this country to play a really positive role in Europe by signalling our willingness to participate in the new battle groups where it is appropriate and feasible.

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