Michael Smith (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)

I never expect thanks for coming to the Seanad for any debate. I like coming back to this House, which is a special part of my experience. The unanimous support for an issue as important as Irish troops going to Liberia and the nice remarks made by every contributor about our Defence Forces is something I always want to hear. It will be possible to translate that good will into greater confidence for the troops who are facing risks and difficulties in Liberia. We have taken note of the ideas put forward here about how we might improve the circumstances and make life easier for our troops. We will continue to do this and will look at it again in light of the first week's experience in Liberia.

Senator Ryan and others are correct when they say that while we have faced many difficult terrains in the past, we have probably not faced one as difficult as this. Over the past month the military has gone to exceptional lengths in its reconnaissance to check out every aspect that could be thought about. All the angles are covered in as far as we can do this. While we would like to be in a position to give guarantees, we are not able to go that far.

Under our reorganisation into three battalions, the contingents will be drawn from the west, south and east in turn. The troops will be used to working and performing with each other. This should strengthen the camaraderie that is so necessary, as the troops will be tested and hard decisions will have to be made.

I thank the Members for their conscientious, deliberate and supportive contributions. Our soldiers will take the message with them that they have the wholehearted support of both Houses of the Oireachtas. We can only hope that as the months wear on, we will be saved from any atrocities like those that happened to us in the past. We have lost 84 men since 1958. The Niemba ambush in the Congo left an indelible memory in my mind. I was attending secondary school at the time and remember the great solemnity and seriousness of the funerals. Irish soldiers did not refrain and missions have gone on for 40 years on every continent.