Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

As the Minister said, the motion before the House is extremely limited in scope and relates solely to the dispatch of a member of the Permanent Defence Force as operation commander, together with a number of headquarters support staff. However, it gives us an opportunity to discuss the future mission that obviously will follow this appointment.

I congratulate Major General Pat Nash on his appointment. It is a measure of the regard other European nations have for the abilities and training of the Irish Defence Forces that they requested an Irish operations commander. His extensive service with the UN and his involvement in the EU monitoring mission in the western Balkans have undoubtedly prepared him well for this role and he should serve the EU as he has already done.

Since this is an upcoming issue, Irish involvement in the Chad peacekeeping mission is the right thing to do and certainly has the support of this side of the House. Since the prospect of an easy resolution of the ongoing military conflict in Sudan is unlikely, the refugee crisis will continue to be a major problem. In the face of long-running inaction by the international community, Ireland will be leading by participating in this important humanitarian mission, supplying possibly up to 350 troops of the EU force, which could amount to 4,000 in Chad and the Central African Republic.

Through the appointment of an Irish operations commander and the upcoming authorisation of Defence Force participation in the Chad mission, this House affirms that Ireland takes its responsibility to the international community seriously and is prepared to play its part. The brutality of the conditions in Darfur and the internally displaced people's camps is well documented. More than 250,000 people have been killed and more than two million people have been displaced. There are 238,000 refugees in camps in Chad alone. Once the displaced have escaped the brutality of the civil war and militia attacks in their villages, they are subject to the threat of disease, starvation, unhygienic refugee camps, as well as continuing militia attacks, abuse, murder and rape within the camps for internally displaced peoples. Aid workers find access to these camps difficult and dangerous due to the geographic and environmental conditions and attacks on aid workers. This could be the next Rwanda and we must take every action possible to halt this tragedy of inhuman proportions before it escalates further.

The current African Union, AU, force deployed in the Sudan is entirely insufficient and UN action on the situation was finally accomplished, with excessive and regrettable delay, through Resolutions 1778 and 1779. The acceptance of the need for this action by the Sudanese and Chinese governments was long overdue. The delay caused by both governments' resistance has resulted in years of additional murder, famine and displacement. Participation in the Chad operation is the best support we can give to the UN-AU hybrid mission in the Sudan.

While our involvement is appropriate and necessary, there are a number of issues of serious concern that must be addressed before we send our troops to Chad. I raised one of these issues in the Dáil last week. In fact, I probably raised both issues. The first issue is the lack of sufficient air support for Irish troops. As I said last Thursday, Chad is approximately 15 km inland. The Minister accepted here today that it is a very inaccessible country. The only way one can get in and out is through airlifts. The fact that we must depend on others to provide this service for us makes us vulnerable. I know the Minister will say that in the case of Liberia, we were able to depend on others, such as the Dutch for a medical backup service. However, that was on a coastline; this is different. We are certainly vulnerable when it comes to resupply and taking injured people and those with other difficulties out. For example, the French have a continuous resupply line open to them. Apparently, they are bringing in fresh water on a continuous basis and will be in and out all the time. Maybe, we can depend on them but this may not be the case at all times.

Whereas we may not have the time to do it, I would certainly recommend that the Minister seriously consider what I proposed here last week. I proposed that the Government look at the purchase of, for example, a Hercules transport aircraft which can take approximately 50 troops at one time, for future missions. It would be an idea for this type of mission. The Minister said that it would be expensive and that it would be lying idle when there was no mission. That is not the case. It could be used in rapid reaction operations and for humanitarian and other purposes. Will the Minister clarify that the Department of Defence will charter an aircraft, for which one trip will cost approximately €300,000? This cost would be not be incurred if we had our own aircraft-carrying capacity. Will the Minister consider leasing aircraft, such as a Boeing 737 combi aircraft, which would only cost €150,000 a month?

Unlike previous missions, which lasted six months, this mission's term will be four months. Troops will be based in camp for this period, which will lead to many issues, particularly psychological stress. It is important the troops have both a physical and mental health back-up service.

As recently as 8 October, the UN Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations expressed concern as regards air cover in the Sudan. If there was insufficient air cover in Sudan, I would be concerned that air cover in Chad would be transferred to Sudan to make up the shortfall, leaving troops in Chad more vulnerable. The Under-Secretary General asked European countries to contribute 18 transport helicopters and six light tactical helicopters, stating civilian and commercial helicopters are no substitute for the required military equipment. Ongoing attacks on peacekeeping forces and humanitarian aid workers in Darfur, combined with insufficient helicopter capabilities make it more likely the helicopters committed to Chad and the Central African Republic may be needed in Sudan. These are the same concerns I raised on Question Time last week.

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