Pat Moylan (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister for Defence, Deputy O'Dea, and his officials to the House. It is not often that defence legislation comes before us but this is important legislation. I appreciated the Minister's comprehensive speech.

Ireland has a proud legacy of peacekeeping. Indeed, our troops have performed duty on 58 UN peace support operations worldwide. Our commitment to peacekeeping has taken our Defence Forces from the Congo to Kosovo and from the Lebanon to Liberia. Our reputation in the field is second to none. We, as a prosperous and successful small nation, have a particular role to play in helping other small nations.

Over the past two decades we have witnessed some of the most vile and bloody atrocities in mankind's history. I am of course referring to those scenes of carnage in Rwanda and Darfur. Those horrendous scenes cannot have failed to move all those who saw them on their television screens. Indeed, most of us were appalled by the brutal news coverage, and wondered how the international community could stand by and do nothing. This failure to act was not the fault of the United Nations as an institution. It was the collective failure of civilised nations to act speedily and effectively in defence of the world's poorest and most vulnerable people.

The time has come for the European Union, in advancing the aims of the United Nations and the UN Charter, to play its part in responding speedily to emerging crises across the globe. This can be done by providing humanitarian relief and, where required, military support for the maintenance of international peace and security.

From 2007 onwards, the EU will maintain two such units, on stand-by at all times, for deployment within five to ten days. As the Minister stated earlier, each battle group will be on stand-by for six months.

During his visit to Ireland in October 2004, UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, spoke forcefully of his desire to see regional organisations like the EU helping the UN to respond rapidly to crisis situations. Our neutrality and record of 48 years of UN service in some of the most dangerous trouble spots means we can make a unique and important contribution.

For these reasons the Minister for Defence, Deputy O'Dea, announced last February that he was commencing talks with Sweden on Ireland participating in the Nordic battle group.

The term "battle group" is an unfortunate one. It has connotations that some may exploit to raise baseless fears. It is the underlying concept on which we should focus, not the word itself, which is a military term. The term refers to a battalion-sized unit of approximately 1,500 troops ready to go into a situation at short notice. These will enable the EU, at the behest of the UN, to move rapidly into areas where conflicts are developing and prevent them from escalating into catastrophes. Our neutrality and record of 48 years of UN service in the world's most dangerous trouble spots means Ireland can make a unique and important contribution.

Despite what Opposition parties may say, the desire to enter talks on joining a battle group was not taken lightly. The issues, involving legal, operational and policy matters, were complex. The Government needed to be certain that participation would not undermine our neutrality or raise constitutional issues. It is clear, especially as the concept has developed, that no such concerns arise. Our participation in battle group peace support operations will require UN authorisation. As the Minister stated, the triple lock of UN, Government and Dáil approval will continue, despite Fine Gael's desire to dispense with it. EU battle groups do not constitute a "European army" in any shape, make or form. Joining such a group does not herald conscription or the militarisation of the Union. Participation will involve Ireland sending troops abroad to train with its battle group partners. It will not involve troops coming to Ireland to train or exercise.