Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I missed the reply to Deputy Mick Wallace. Can the Minister provide any indication of the number of troops he envisages becoming involved? He mentioned a figure of 22 and the training element. My understanding is that Mali may receive the third largest United Nations deployment in recent decades after the deployments to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Darfur. It will, therefore, be a major operation.

People are aware of Mali's history and economic circumstances. It is one of the world's poorest countries. They are aware of its general society and the threat from at least some organisations with connections to al-Qaeda. Is the Minister concerned about the State becoming involved in the French post-colonial system in north Africa? As he knows, France has had a long-standing role in Francophone countries and often supported powerful dictatorships and regimes which oppressed their own peoples. Does the Minister have concerns that Ireland could become implicated in this regard? He mentioned Partnership for Peace. It is fair to say, notwithstanding earlier comments, that people have concerns about this country being involved in NATO missions.

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