Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

The ambition of the EU to be able to respond quickly to emerging crises has been, and continues to be, a key objective of the development of the European Security and Defence Policy, ESDP. An important aspect of ESDP is the development of a stand-by military rapid response capacity, in the form of battlegroups.

Almost all EU member states have already made a commitment to contribute to a specific battlegroup formation. Apart from Ireland, the only countries that have not done so are Denmark, which is in a special position due to its opt-out in this area, and Malta. Ireland has indicated to its EU partners a positive disposition to taking part in battlegroups. In this context, and as I have previously reported to the House in Parliamentary Questions Nos. 241 of 2 February 2005, 36 of 28 April 2005 and 45 of 2 June 2005, I met the Foreign Ministers of Sweden and Finland in January 2005 and the Foreign Minister of Austria in April 2005. In the course of those meetings, I discussed a range of issues, including possible Irish participation in battlegroups.

As the Deputy will be aware, the legal, operational and other issues surrounding participation have been considered by an interdepartmental working group, established by the Minister for Defence, which included representatives of my Department. The report of the working group has been considered by the Cabinet committee on European affairs and, informally, by the Government. Following on from this, more detailed discussions with other like-minded nations on a potential contribution by Ireland to a battlegroup have now commenced. A delegation consisting of representatives from the Departments of Defence and Foreign Affairs and the Defence Forces met their Swedish counterparts in Stockholm on 10 March to discuss possible participation by the Defence Forces in the Nordic battlegroup, which is due to be on stand-by during 2008. As the Minister for Defence has already outlined to the House, our representatives outlined Ireland's position in respect of battlegroup participation and international peacekeeping generally and gave a presentation on the capabilities Ireland could make available to a battlegroup.

This offer is now being considered by Sweden, which is the framework nation for the Nordic battlegroup, and its partners. Further consultations between the Defence Forces and the Swedish armed forces and between officials of the respective Departments are likely. I would expect these to conclude within the next few months. Any decision on a specific contribution to a battlegroup would be subject to formal Government approval.

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