Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

Some weeks ago I availed of an invitation from the Commander in Chief to visit the Curragh with my colleagues, the Minister of State, Seán Power and Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl, to examine the logistical programme that was being put in place for this mission. Only being there and seeing the vast amount of work that went into organising this allowed one to realise what it is all about. Everyone involved should be congratulated as it is a wonderful achievement for the Defence Forces to partake in this mission. It was unbelievable to see the amount of work that went into organising and supporting it. I concur with the sentiments of the Minister and Deputy Deenihan on the family factor, telephone calls, Christmas and so on and that every effort should be made to alleviate the concerns of family members. I am sure the Minister will take in the points we have made in this regard.

The Irish Times of Monday, 14 April wrote of the medical teams that travel overseas and it stated that the Department of Defence had to recruit foreign doctors for overseas service. It stated that the results of this were mixed. Were foreign doctors recruited because there were not enough Irish doctors to travel with the group? If so, what kind of investigations into their backgrounds were made? If one is to believe what was written, it did not make good reading to see that one of the doctors had the mission concluded and another did not have the necessary qualifications. One would not wish to see such things happen on this mission.

How were interpreters that travel with the group recruited? What mechanism does the Department use to ensure they are au fait with the areas, the languages of different tribes and so on? A recent newspaper report relates an encounter between the Army Rangers and a rebel group and it was the interaction of the interpreters between these sides that made all the difference. According to this report it was the first time the group engaged in an oral interaction and they did so because the Irish troops were so agreeable in this case. How many interpreters are being used by our troops in Chad and how are they employed? Do interpreters and troops interact to develop confidence? This is of major significance in overcoming challenging situations like that related in the newspaper report.

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