Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

I am glad to have an opportunity to speak on this issue. We all extend our good wishes to the Irish troops travelling abroad on the mission to Chad. They will, as always, serve us in the proud tradition of service they have established since the 1960s. Irish troops have carved out their own niche as international peacekeepers. They do not quibble about the service they give, for which we owe them a great debt of gratitude. They go where they are sent and do so without demur. They have done us proud over the years.

However, I am not certain whether the force being sent to Chad is sufficiently strong. The small pocket battleship type of force is fine, but in a large territory with major problems, as is the case in Chad, a larger force is preferable. I have attempted for years to promote the notion of increasing the strength of the Defence Forces to allow for overseas deployment without depleting the force at home. If I were a member of the Defence Forces, I would like to see strength in numbers as troops are sent further afield. That would be reassuring for the troops themselves and would also be important in conveying the peacekeeping message in the location to which they are sent. If an opposing force or army sees that a peacekeeping force is particularly small, it may have a particular attitude to it. It is important that the force is sufficiently strong.

The next important consideration is that the troops be adequately equipped both for the climate and for the types of life-threatening situations that can and will arise. We have learned much from past experiences and that will stand the troops in good stead. From what we can glean from the replies to parliamentary questions, I understand the force will be well equipped.

I have observed in the past that Irish troops often rely to a great extent on supply and transport to other forces that may be engaged in peacekeeping alongside our particular deployments. I am not convinced this is a positive arrangement. It is preferable that our troops be self-sufficient in such circumstances. In the course of a debate many years ago about how far back Archbishop McHale could trace his lineage, somebody made the cynical suggestion that he must have been in the Ark. To this the Archbishop responded that the McHales had a boat of their own. It is essential that in future we develop our supply of transport — helicopters, in particular, for those kinds of missions. I say this without discussing the matter with the military establishment in my constituency or elsewhere. We should consider this in future as a major capital investment, given that our Defence Forces are likely to be deployed in these and other similar circumstances.

I do not agree with my colleague on the other side, the Government backbencher, Deputy Finian McGrath.

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