Brendan Ryan (Labour)

The Labour Party supports the deployment of 400 troops as part of the UN mandated military operation in the Republic of Chad. The triple lock mechanism of approval by the UN, the Government and the Dáil has been completed and this satisfies the approval requirements before Defence Forces can be deployed overseas.

Ireland is the second largest contributor of troops and provides the overall operation's commander, Major General Pat Nash. I am sure he is very proud to be the operation's commander and so should his family. We wish him well. France is the largest contributor and will supply more than half the 4,300 troops required. That in itself has the potential to be a problem given that France was the former colonial power in that country and is a supporter of the Government there. Anti-Government feeling could manifest itself in anti-French feeling but hopefully that will not arise.

We are confident that our troops will be well prepared. The additional specific training referred to in the Dáil yesterday will make a major contribution to this difficult situation. We wish the troops well in their mission and pray that there will be no fatalities. This is very important and is always a major risk in such missions. The medical back-up and hardware must be available and must be adequate for the task.

The stated objectives of the mission, to which the Minister of State referred in his contribution, are to help establish a safe and secure environment for refugees, to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the refugees and to protect the UN and humanitarian personnel. It is against that background and that of the humanitarian crisis in the country and the region and the worthy objectives of the mission that the Labour Party supports it. However, we do so not without concerns, some of which have been referred to by previous contributors.

This difficult and demanding mission is the Irish army's most challenging mission to date. It will also be the most expensive, costing in the region of €57 million. Chad, as we are aware, is landlocked and is approximately 2,000 km from the nearest port. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, on his return from the region, described the environment as being one of the harshest in the world. He also stated that there are no roads to speak of and that travel can be dangerous. The threat level has been described as medium risk. However, only this week there were reports of hundreds being killed and fighting in eastern Chad. As the Minister stated in the Dáil yesterday and as the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Kitt, stated here this morning, this is the likely location for the deployment of Irish troops. What does medium risk mean?

One issue to arise concerns the potential for our troops to be drawn into Government rebel conflict there. I have already touched on one aspect of that in the French context. There is also the matter of the increasing level of banditry and vulnerable targets and the risk from break-away rebel factions seeking arms, ammunition and vehicles is on the increase. I accept the view of the Minister of State that they are unlikely to take on a well-armed international force and, hopefully, this will be the case.

The safety and welfare of our troops has got to be our major concern. There are reports of emerging gaps in transport resources in the area of heavy airlift and helicopter assets. Apparently, there are only three helicopters available where it is estimated that 20 will be required to support this mission.

In my view Ireland should not provide the troops unless the estimated resources required are provided. I am happy to read in today's newspapers that there will be delays because of the shortages of equipment and specialist troops. These are not delays in themselves but the troops will not be committed unless the supports and resources are available. That is welcome. This mission must be properly equipped. It is up to the bigger member states, as the Minister has said, to come up with the goods and support this mission.

The Labour Party is proud that the Permanent Defence Forces are going to take part in this mission. It will bring great credit to its members, to the Defence Forces generally and the country as a whole. However, those involved must be given the tools to do the job and they must have adequate transport arrangements. We wish our troops safety, health and success in their mission.