Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

The advice of the Attorney General is that there is no reference to this sort of matter in the legislation. Successive Governments have presumed they are entitled to send people on ceremonial duty for seminars, sports events etc. when they are not part of a United Nations force. The defence legislation only refers specifically to circumstances in which troops are to be sent abroad as part of an international peacekeeping force.

Since the Defence Forces were established, successive Governments have held the view that while the defence legislation does not mention the sending abroad of individuals in the circumstances I have outlined, it does not preclude their being sent. It could be an oversight in the legislation but it simply does not refer to them. In case it is argued that the only authority to send troops abroad stems from the defence legislation and that there is therefore no authority to send military personnel abroad in the aforementioned circumstances because there is no reference thereto in the legislation, I am taking the opportunity to include the necessary provisions in the amending legislation to avoid doubt. It is better to counter the argument before it is raised even though I do not believe it would succeed.

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