Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I agree that the posting of Irish troops overseas has contributed very positively to our international credibility. We have a standing commitment to have 850 personnel overseas, and that would best be served by having a detachment at battalion level, as the Deputy proposes. At this point no mission has been mentioned in terms of an Irish involvement. As I said in my reply, we require a period to deal with issues that have arisen in regard to equipment, as well as issues such as leave and so on that arise after a long and intensive mission. We will look at any proposal put to us by the United Nations. Our dealings with that body suggest it is likely to ask us to partake in missions. When and if that arises, we will consider the proposal on the basis of the considerations we have always taken, including the type of impact the mission is likely to have.

In regard to his question on Kosovo, I assume the Deputy meant to refer to Bosnia and Herzegovina where we are, upon request, retaining our troops until the end of the year. We were pleased to be in a position to accede to that request.

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