John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 91: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his discussions with the Foreign Affairs Ministers of other EU states regarding EU battlegroups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2993/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The battlegroups-rapid response elements concept is one that has been under development in the European Union for some time. From the outset of the establishment of the European Security and Defence Policy in 1999, it has been envisaged that, to carry out the full range of so-called Petersberg tasks, the EU's crisis management capabilities would need to include rapid response elements, available and deployable at very high readiness.

Significant work was done during the Irish Presidency in the first half of 2004 to develop these capabilities. The overall battlegroups concept was agreed under our Presidency in April 2004. Since April, work has progressed on developing the concept and, at a military capabilities commitment conference last November, member states committed up to 13 battlegroup formations, which will be on stand-by for a six month period to deploy to crises within a 15 day period. In the initial 2005-07 period, these formations will be primarily national. From 2007 onwards, it is envisaged that battlegroup formations will be largely multi-national in character. As the Deputy will be aware, the United Nations Secretary General has strongly supported the development of the battlegroups concept. These formations have the potential to play a significant role in support of the UN, including through deploying at the request of the UN as a "bridging force", i.e. deploying quickly to a crisis for a relatively short period, while a larger and longer-term UN peacekeeping force is established.

The Minister for Defence has already outlined to the House the parameters of the Government's position in terms of a possible Irish contribution to rapid response elements. After consideration by the Government, Ireland indicated at the military capabilities commitment conference in November 2004 that we were prepared to enter into consultations with partners with a view to potential participation. An important element of such consultation includes discussions at foreign minister level. I have already held bilateral consultations in Stockholm and Helsinki last week with both my Swedish and Finnish counterparts. These consultations included the issue of the ongoing development of the European security and defence policy and the role rapid response elements can play in enhancing the EU's crisis management capabilities. We discussed plans by Finland and Sweden to participate in the initiative, including the establishment of a Swedish-led battlegroup with the participation of Finland and Norway. I briefed both Ministers on considerations that will be brought to bear in considering Ireland's participation in the initiative, including our commitment to the triple lock policy, involving the need for Government, Dáil and UN authorisation in the deployment of defence forces personnel to crisis management missions overseas. I also informed my colleagues of the decision to establish an interdepartmental group, which includes representatives of my Department, the Department of the Taoiseach, the Department of Defence, the Defence Forces and the Attorney General's office, to examine the policy, legislative and operational issues arising from Ireland's possible participation.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. I am particularly interested in the discussions he held with the Finns and the Swedes. Will he agree that the Swedes, Finns and Austrians accept that while we are not members of a European army, we are heading towards a European common defence? Why do the Swedes and Finns now describe themselves as "non-aligned" and not "neutral"? Will the Minister agree that the description "non-aligned" is far more accurate for Ireland's status at the moment? What problems associated with the triple lock did he discuss with his counterparts? Do they consider the triple lock compatible with membership of the battlegroups? Will participation in the battlegroups inevitably lead to increased defence spending? Is it the case that we will have to commit ourselves to improving our military capabilities under the new EU constitution, and does that inevitably mean increasing military spending?

What legislative changes will be required if we are to participate fully in the battlegroups? I am asking particularly about the Defence Act 1960. I asked the Minister for Defence to supply me with information on the legal opinion on this matter. While I have not yet received the information, I would be very interested to know the Minister for Foreign Affairs's opinion on the matter.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I must say as a preamble, I was intrigued by the discussion that took place this morning at the European Council meeting. On the one hand, the Deputy appears entirely wedded to the triple lock while, on the other, his potential rainbow coalition partner is totally at variance with this view. I am not sure about the Labour Party.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I certainly am.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I would be very interested to hear about the negotiations on a Mullingar accord or a Dublin 4 accord.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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On a point of order, we ask the questions here and the Minister should answer them.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am not asking questions; I am just making a point. I am entitled to make a point. It is a very interesting point, something the Deputy should articulate at some stage. While Deputy Kenny said recently that it is not the time to air the policies of the alternative Government, I would be intrigued to hear the Deputy's views on that issue.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I will not lose sleep over it.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Most of the discussions with my Swedish and Finnish counterparts were not about battlegroups, they were about the civilian response in the aftermath of the tsunami. After expressing my sympathy, particularly to the Swedish people, most of the discussion involved trying to examine the need for the EU to be prepared, from a civilian point of view, to deal with this concept and, if necessary, to use its military capability, not from an aggressive point of view, but from the point of view of what is happening in Sri Lanka. Our military personnel are currently out there helping the people to build up their road infrastructure and so on. We also discussed the issue of the EU mandate. I made it quite clear that this was our position, and remains so. They have a slightly different view in this regard. I do not wish to get involved in using tags. The Deputy may wish to use descriptions.

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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What about Willie O'Dea?

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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It is the wish of the Irish people that——

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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They are more honest.

Rory O'Hanlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Minister without interruption.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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——our troops should be involved in humanitarian assistance worldwide. They expect the Army to be used in a positive way in that sense. They also want to be sure that if the Army goes abroad, it is with a UN mandate, the mandate of an organisation to which they adhere.

There are issues in regard to our troops going abroad on such missions as battlegroups and rapid response forces. One of the issues involves training, and whether it is possible for them to train with other troops if they were part of one of these groups on foreign soil. I do not think that even Deputy Gormley would want our troops participating blindly in a multi-national group, whether for military crisis management or civilian crisis management, without having trained with the personnel with whom they are supposed to work.