Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

We will communicate that request to Lieutenant General Nash. Deputy Ó Snodaigh indicated that he intended to oppose the motion because he did not agree with battle groups. This is not a battle group in the classic sense of the word. We are part of the Nordic battle group. This is a peace support operation which is being carried out for humanitarian reasons. Incidentally, of all the missions launched by the EU, only four have been military missions, three of which were carried out as a result of specific resolutions and requests from the UN. There are so many demands on the UN now that it just does not have the capacity to organise all the missions it is requested to be involved in. Sometimes it must subcontract the job to an agency, as it were, such as the EU or NATO. In the case of the mission in Sudan, the African Union is the organising committee. That is quite normal. There is nothing sinister or untoward about it and there is no particular agenda. The arrangement simply enables the UN to establish more UN-supported missions than it would be capable of doing if it was restricted to organising blue helmet-type operations.

Deputy Timmins raised an interesting point when he said that the danger on the ground would be increased by the fact that there are so many factions it would be hard to tell one from another. We are conscious of this and it has been factored into the risk assessment. Deputy Timmins also spoke about Kosovo and the possibility of a unilateral declaration of independence on 10 December. That is a question which exercises not just us — it is not just a question of the triple lock — but also many of our partner countries in the Kosovo operation. I have been speaking to some of their representatives. The better view is that there will be no need for a new UN resolution. However, in answer to the question raised by various people, we have referred the matter to the Attorney General for advice and I expect to hear from him on this shortly. If it turns out that another UN resolution is required but not forthcoming, we will not be the only country that is embarrassed. I assure the Deputy of that.

Deputy Timmins also asked whether we could accept assistance from NATO if difficulties arose and we needed to get out of a country or a certain location quickly. There is an arrangement between the EU and NATO, the Berlin Plus arrangement, whereby we can have access to NATO assets. That is how it is dealt with.

As Deputies mentioned, this is not a trip to a holiday camp. There is no doubt this is a risky mission with potential dangers. However, I wish people would stop saying things such as "very high risk", "imminent danger", and "the dead heart of Africa". The families of the troops are sufficiently worried already. We should not add to their worries by using this sort of over-the-top language. We should keep it calm.

See this speech in context