Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The force commander, Lieutenant-General Nash, is not yet satisfied because at least two, or maybe more, logistical issues have to be resolved. The Government is obviously giving its approval but subject to when the force commander is satisfied. It is a great honour that he is an Irish man, but that is neither here nor there in this instance. It is his call and at the moment there are a few remaining logistical issues. It is a difficult mission because Chad is an enormous country, bigger than the United Kingdom, Spain, France and Germany put together.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs was there last week and I am sure he will be talking to the House about it when dealing with parliamentary questions. We must consider the plight of tens of thousands of people who are stuck in appalling circumstances and are literally begging for assistance from the international community. However, we cannot make that decision until the force commander is satisfied. Hopefully that can happen soon for everyone concerned because people are dying every day in tragic circumstances in 45 degrees of heat. We are anxious to play a role but we can only do so when the force commander is happy.

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