Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy O'Shea for his good wishes. He has the advantage of having had the benefit of a visit to Chad. The Deputy is correct that the strength of the Chadian military has been increased. The Government's preference was to have been able to continue in the MINURCAT mission. It is true, however, that considerable improvements have taken place and the impact of Irish and other United Nations troops has been positive. Nevertheless, the Government wanted to continue to participate in the mission. It is generally understood, however, that owing to the conditions that prevail in Chad, the decision to withdraw our troops was necessary. It was not possible to keep the decision secret although in any event, no one suggested it was either necessary or desirable to do so.

While there have been some improvements in the position in Chad, the Government's clear preference was for a renewal of the UN mandate at the current level, rather than at the level at which it may, according to speculation, be renewed - if it is renewed. We would like to have been part of any such renewed mandate.

On the future role of Irish troops, we have an ongoing commitment to the United Nations to provide 850 troops. Anyone who deals with defence matters will be aware of the triple lock requirement which applies when more than 12 troops are involved. The triple lock, which involves a Government decision, United Nations mandate and approval by the House, remains in place.

Looking back over previous missions, few would have predicted that Irish troops would serve in Chad when Liberia, Eritrea and other trouble spots were having the benefit of the input of Irish troops. Unfortunately, the state of the world is such that there is generally no great shortage of places where troops are required for deployment. The Government is well disposed to fulfilling our mandate in that regard.

We intend to avail of this opportunity to do a substantial amount of what may be termed "housekeeping" to bring equipment up to date and provide training. Those who have been serving overseas also need rest and a break. A considerable amount of work needs to be done and there is no danger that Army personnel will have a slack period, as it were. In any event, we have a commitment to the United Nations which we intend to fulfil when the UN requests us to do so. As Deputies will be aware, EUFOR has submitted a request to retain a small number of Irish troops - approximately 50 - in Bosnia-Herzegovina. We will accede to this request which was received in recent days.

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