Joe Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

The Minister and everybody else is aware that the security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo is extremely volatile. It appears the country has been in the grip of civil war and subsequent humanitarian disaster since the 1960s. The elections scheduled for June have been postponed a number of times due to security concerns. There is no doubt that any mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo for Irish troops would be extremely dangerous. Is the Minister assured that our troops have the necessary training and experience for this? He referred to this partially in his reply. Do the troops have the experience to deal with the situation in the country? I do not mean this as an insult to Irish troops. However, I recall that three years ago French authorities rebuffed an offer by the Irish Government to send Irish Rangers to join the UN mission in the Congo to help stabilise the State. Will the Minister provide reassurance on this point? What is the envisaged length of time for the mission?

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