Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome both reports and I acknowledge, once again, the tremendous role of Irish Defence Forces personnel in UN-led operations overseas. The bravery and commitment of these soldiers, including Naval Service personnel, are a credit to them and are recognised and appreciated throughout the world. As a small country with, rightly, a small Defence Forces, our contribution of almost 10% of the entire peacekeeping effort overseas at any given time has gained us many friends on the international stage. For this reason, I have appealed to the Minister of State - perhaps ad nauseamin his eyes - as well as to the Government and previous Governments not to align Ireland with international policies or those who are warmongers and seeking to increase the militarisation of the world and those who would wish to exert influence and control once again over their former colonies, in many cases in the guise of peacemaking.

I have also repeatedly tried to have Ireland's neutrality enshrined in the Constitution so that we can continue with the honourable tradition of Irish deployment to UN missions, as we have done since the late 1950s. I will continue to question why Ireland is involved in or trying to involve itself in missions which are not blue hat UN missions, which are of dubious origin in some cases or are specifically intended to have the EU or other supposedly developed countries at odds or taking sides in a conflict rather than in the honourable tradition of peacekeeping. With this in mind, it is time the Government lived up to its constitutional obligation to hold a Dáil debate on the deployment to Mali of 20 personnel, which is more than the 12 personnel provided for in the triple lock. As this is, supposedly, a training mission, the Government believes it does not need the assent of the Dáil, but it does. There is no ambiguity in this regard. During the second Lisbon treaty campaign, Irish people were promised that, at the very least, the Dáil would have to give such a sizeable deployment its imprimatur. I found that promise dubious at the time and it remains so. This is more of the doublespeak in regard to the State's neutrality that has become commonplace under this Government and previous Governments. The Government would gain a lot more respect if it stood firm and became a champion for neutrality, rather than involve itself in operations that would seek to reinstate the exploitation of former colonies. We have much more in common with the countries in which UN troops have served than we do with those countries now trying to impose their rule in a different way.

On the related matter of UN duties in the past, I appeal to the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe, to ensure that Irish soldiers who served in past UN missions and were gallant and brave in their actions are properly honoured. It emerged recently that there is documentation which recommends the award of five military medals of gallantry and 29 distinguished service medals to those who stood against 5,000 soldiers in Jadotville in 1961. I ask the Minister of State to ensure that the regulations which prevent him doing so are changed. I acknowledge the recent award of a medal by the Minister of State to the family of the late Joe Murphy in respect of his service during the War of Independence, which was greatly appreciated. I guarantee the Minister of State that the award of medals in respect of those who served in Jadotville would be likewise greatly appreciated, not only by their families but also by the serving members of the Defence Forces who would know that if they are put in danger and if they are gallant and brave, as were those who went before them, they would be duly recognised for doing so. Some of those who were involved in Jadotville died from suicide, including a young man from Carrick-on-Shannon who was 16 years old at the time. Those people deserve much more recognition than we have given them thus far. At that time, people such as Conor Cruise O'Brien prevaricated and did not give the support and protection that the Defence Forces needed such that they were left to their own devices. Thankfully, many of them came home but many were affected by what they had seen during that fateful week in 1961. I urge the Minister of State to act on the Mali issue and in regard to the award of medals.

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