Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 73: To ask the Minister for Defence his plans to change the legislation permitting Irish troops to train overseas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6807/05]

Joe Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 74: To ask the Minister for Defence if there is a need to change the law to facilitate Irish participation in EU battle groups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6810/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 390: To ask the Minister for Defence the extent to which he has had discussions with his EU colleagues in the matter of European battle groups or rapid response forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6932/05]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 73, 74 and 390 together.

I refer Deputies to my reply to this House on this subject on 26 January last. The position remains as I outlined at that time.

The background to the rapid response elements concept commonly referred to as the "battle groups" is that at the European Council in Helsinki in 1999, member states set themselves a headline goal, that is, that by the year 2003, co-operating together and voluntarily, they will be able to deploy rapidly and then sustain forces capable of the full range of Petersberg Tasks as set out in the Amsterdam treaty. This included, inter alia, a capability to provide rapid response elements available and deployable at very high readiness. The ambition of the EU to be able to respond rapidly to emerging crises has been and continues to be a key objective of the development of the European Security and Defence Policy and the rapid response concept.

The EU has learned from historical experiences in the Balkans and Africa and wants to be able to react faster when crises develop. This was effectively illustrated last year by the EU's first autonomous military operation, which was conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

During his visit to Dublin in October 2004, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan underlined the extent to which he believes regional organisations, such as the EU, can contribute to the UN's requirements in the crisis management area. In this context, if we did not seek to establish how best Ireland could make a meaningful contribution to the rapid response elements initiative we would be departing from our traditional policy of full support to the United Nations. At the Cabinet meeting of 16 November, the Government agreed that I should advise my EU counterparts of Ireland's preparedness to enter into consultations with partners with a view to potential participation in rapid response elements. A military capabilities commitment conference was held on 22 November 2004 at which member states committed up to 13 battle group formations, which will be available to deploy to crises within a five to ten day period from 2005 onwards. The five to ten day period begins from the date of a decision by the European Council to launch an operation. However, it is to be expected that a crisis would normally have a longer gestation period during which the UN Security Council would have sufficient opportunity to decide on a UN mandate.

To fully assess the implications associated with such participation, I have established an interdepartmental group, which includes representatives of my Department, the Defence Forces, the Taoiseach's Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General's office. This group met in December and has established three sub-groups to address the policy, legislative and operational issues arising. The work of these sub-groups, which met earlier this month, will span some months due to the fact that the rapid response elements concept is still evolving and a complete picture of all other member states' proposed involvement is not yet available. Following completion of the necessary analysis I intend returning to Government with proposals regarding the level of any proposed participation.

One must bear in mind the Defence Forces are currently in Liberia in a UN operation, in Kosovo in a NATO-led operation and in Bosnia in an EU-led operation, and that rapid responsive elements are but one aspect of EU capabilities to assist in crisis management. The rapid response concept raises many issues, not alone for Ireland but also for other EU member states, such as legal issues; operational, training, deployability, rotation and timeframe issues; and decision-making issues, in particular how to preserve the integrity of national decision-making.

Once again, I stress that the question of Ireland's participation in rapid response elements will remain subject to the usual requirements of a Government decision, Dáil approval and UN authorisation, and I have no plans to change this.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Minister has had a few months during which to think about this matter. If the sub-group dealing with legislative matters indicates that legislation needs to be introduced to permit Irish troops to serve abroad, will the Minister bring forward legislation to that effect?

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I will not anticipate the outcome of the sub-group's deliberations. We have identified certain legal barriers to our participation in the so-called battle groups. I have asked people representing various Departments and the Office of the Attorney General to advise us on precisely what are those problems and how they propose we get around them. When I receive the report of the relevant sub-group, I will discuss the matter with my Cabinet colleagues.

Joe Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Is there a conflict between the Minister and his colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, on this issue? The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, has clearly stated that the law needs to be changed but the Minister for Defence has stated that there is no point in changing the legislation. What are the precise legal and constitutional issues to which the Minister referred? Would these changes affect the triple-lock procedure?

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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As I emphasised, the Government's policy is that the triple-lock procedure will remain in place. In accordance with the Defence Act 1960, if we are to deploy troops abroad, provided the number of troops is more than 12 and provided they are carrying arms, the triple-lock will continue to apply. In other words, that operation will require a United Nations mandate, a decision of the Cabinet and a decision of Dáil Éireann. That will continue to be the position.

I take this opportunity to reiterate that there is no difference in policy between myself and my very good friend and colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, in this matter. There may be a difference in emphasis in the way in which we have responded to questions asked by the media but we are both committed to the triple-lock. We both recognise that there are some legal impediments to our participation in the so-called proposed battle groups. We are engaged in an exercise of trying to identify what are those legal impediments and what proposals will be necessary to get around them. When that report is available, which I expect it to be by the summer, I will discuss it with my Cabinet colleagues.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Minister is known as an outspoken man. Does he believe Irish troops should be allowed to train abroad with other armies and what view will he express? Does he believe we should participate in these battle groups? Has any member of the Government asked him to park this issue until after the referendum on the EU constitution?

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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It should be parked forever. It should be clamped.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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No one has asked me to park this issue until the outcome of the referendum on the EU constitution is known or any other time. The concept of our becoming involved in battle groups is still evolving. The European Council has just agreed the broad outline parameters of what will be involved. As I stated, a huge amount of detail must be finalised in terms of where the battle groups will train, whether it will be in the host country, which will provide the main element of the battle group, and with which countries we will be involved.

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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What is the general principle?

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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As Kofi Annan has stated, times have changed and the UN must be in a position to respond quickly to avoid the genocide and slaughter which was witnessed in the Congo last year. The recommendation is that to do that, this particular aspect of the rapid response element is necessary. It would be invariably organised regionally, whether by the EU or NATO. In principle, I agree it is a very good idea. I agreed with Kofi Annan when he suggested it. However, the question of Ireland's participation in it will have to be decided by the Cabinet in light of the changes that will be required to Irish law to make that participation possible. That will be more obvious in a couple of months' time when the sub-group is ready to report and makes available the many outstanding technical details in regard to how battle groups will operate in respect of joint training and so on. However, these are not available at present.

Joe Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I asked the Minister if there was a difference of view between himself and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, stated that there was no constitutional prohibition against participation, which the Government wanted, but that the law needed to be changed. He referred to the Defence Act 1960 which prevents this. At the same time, the Minister for Defence stated that there is no point changing legislation until the UN Security Council is able to produce resolutions within the deadline in terms of battle groups and so on.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I do not accept that there is a conflict. We both agree that to participate in the battle groups as we understand the concept at present, the law will have to be changed. I made the point that there might not be much point changing the law until the UN reforms itself to get Security Council decisions much more rapidly than at present. That in no way conflicts with what my colleague stated. We are both in agreement that there must be some legal changes if we are to participate in the battle groups as they are constituted.