Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 68, 71, 78, 86, 88, 94, 103, 107, 109, 110, 116, 470, 471 and 476 together.

The ambition of the EU to respond rapidly to emerging crises has been, and continues to be, a key objective of the development of the European Security and Defence Policy, ESDP. The tasks to be carried out under ESDP, the so-called Petersberg Tasks, are defined in the Amsterdam treaty as "humanitarian and rescue tasks, peacekeeping tasks and tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking". Our participation in ESDP and the Petersberg Tasks has been endorsed and supported directly by the Irish people in the referendum on the Treaty on European Union and the subsequent referenda on the Amsterdam and Nice treaties. Our participation in ESDP is also fully in accordance with our traditional support for the UN and our obligations as members of the international community, to respond to crises, events and humanitarian disasters, wherever they may occur. Because ESDP is an element of common foreign and security policy, Petersberg Tasks will be undertaken only outside the borders of the EU.

The United Nations has not been in touch with me directly concerning the composition of EU battle groups. However, the UN recognises and supports the development of EU battle groups as a key factor in enabling it to respond more rapidly and with greater authority to emerging crises. During his visit to Dublin in October 2004 the UN Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, stressed the importance of battle groups and requested Ireland's support for them. Ireland supports the development of the EU's rapid response capability in support of UN authorised missions and is positively disposed towards participation in the battle groups concept in this regard.

I believe the term "battle groups" can be misleading. It is a standard technical military term to describe a coherent military force package capable of stand-alone operations, with full transport and logistics support capabilities to carry out its tasks. It may be defined as the minimum militarily effective, credible, rapidly deployable, coherent force package capable of stand-alone operations, or for the initial phase of larger operations. While the term is understood in military terms, the word has connotations that some may wish to exploit to raise baseless fears and mislead the public. What is meant by battle groups in this respect is a corps of troops that could respond quickly to a crisis.

I established the interdepartmental group and am bringing forward proposals as a result of that. Discussions with other like-minded nations on a potential contribution by Ireland to a battle group 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 9 and 10 March to discuss possible participation by the Defence Forces in the Nordic battle group. Our representatives outlined Ireland's position on battle group participation and international peacekeeping generally and gave a presentation on the capabilities that Ireland can make available to a battle group. These range from smaller niche capabilities to an APC mounted light infantry company group of approximately 200 personnel plus support elements.

This is being considered by Sweden, which is the framework nation for the Nordic battle group. Further consultations between the Defence Forces and the Swedish armed forces and between officials of the respective ministries are planned. The Nordic battle group was organised some time ago and most of the core elements are already in place, with Sweden contributing the core manoeuvre battalion. In addition, battle groups covering the period through 2010 have already been announced and, on this basis, I would expect our contribution in the period to 2010 to be limited. However, this will be a matter for discussion with other member states over the coming months, in particular with Finland and Austria with whom we have also had some initial informal exploratory discussions.

In the event that we participate in a Nordic battle group we would be the only participant with a legal requirement for a UN mandate. Many member states acknowledge that it would be politically desirable, if not a political imperative, to have a UN mandate for any battle group deployment.

I am fully satisfied that our participation in the battle group concept in no way weakens or undermines Ireland's traditional policy of military neutrality. I have reiterated on many occasions that our participation in peace support operations would continue to require UN authorisation. Participation in battle groups will not diminish this requirement in any way. Ireland's basis for participation in missions undertaken by the EU is grounded in the legitimacy conveyed by the UN Security Council. This will not change. The triple lock of UN, Government and Dáil approval will remain in place.

As part of its study the interdepartmental group recommended changes to current legislation in light of the increasing range of operations where military forces can play a role and the need for increased interoperability and training so that we can be more effective and more efficient once deployed. The requirement for this amending legislation arises irrespective of our participation in battle groups. Moreover, in light of developments since the Defence Act was amended in 1960 to provide for participation in UN peace support operations, for the avoidance of doubt, I also intend to update the wording in the Act to reflect current practice in the formulation of UN Security Council resolutions endorsing peace support operations more closely. The triple lock requirement of UN, Government and Dáil approval will stand. I also propose to provide for participation by Defence Forces personnel in humanitarian operations in response to natural and man-made disasters such as the tsunami in south-east Asia and the earthquake in Pakistan.

All those issues are important and must be addressed. To that end I will formally bring the draft heads of a Bill to the Government for approval in the next few weeks and, with the Opposition's co-operation, I expect to have the necessary legislation enacted before the summer recess.

See this speech in context