Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

——and explain this because it is not good enough to state that "established" means "authorised". It does not. By definition, "established" means the United Nations establishes the body and "authorised" means the body could be established by anybody such as NATO and the United Nations would subsequently authorise Irish troops to be there. Our legislation does not make provision for that.

Considering the severe and important legal implications for the troops in Kosovo at present, who may not be operating under a legal mandate under the 1960 or 1993 legislation, will the Minister publish the Attorney General's legal opinion? That would give us clarity once and for all as to the legal status of those Irish troops who served abroad in the past and who do so at present but are under a legal cloud as to whether they were properly established or authorised under the UN mandate.

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