Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have enormous respect and admiration for the Defence Forces. My late uncle, Captain Terry Cullen, served with distinction in a long career. I have memories of an Army uniform since my childhood and this has influenced my continuing attitude towards the Defence Forces which have achieved a reputation worldwide for peacekeeping. It is in that context that Ireland has been sending Army personnel to Lebanon, along the critical border between Israel and Lebanon. It has not been easy for the Army. During the years it has been caught between the various factions that operate in south Lebanon. The South Lebanese Army, a proxy army for the Israeli army, has engaged with Army personnel. Ireland has lost personnel in that area and there is still ongoing controversy surrounding the fatal wounding of one soldier. In more recent times, in the context of this motion, serious concern has been expressed about putting the Defence Forces in harm's way. Following the recent military engagements involving the capture of Fijian forces and personnel of the Philippine army by al-Qaeda and other factions in that part of Lebanon, it emerges that the Army had to rely on the Israeli defence forces, IDF to extricate its personnel from what could potentially have been a very serious situation. This raises the question of whether Defence Forces personnel should go back into the area.

A question also arises about the armaments being used by the Defence Forces. I subscribe to the view - I am sure the Minister of State will have an opinion on this issue - that Ireland should not arm the Army to the level being suggested in order to enable it to engage with disparate forces which are attempting to stoke up trouble and mayhem in the area. If Ireland was to provide the high velocity armaments being suggested, the Defence Forces would be left open to the possibility of having even more casualties. The Defence Forces are in place exclusively as a peacekeeping force under a UN mandate; they are not there as a peace enforcer. While I fully subscribe to the view that Ireland should supply the Army with the most up-to-date equipment in terms of clothing, personnel carriers and armaments, it should stop short of providing the Army with the armaments being suggested as they would put our troops in harm's way.

I am also interested in knowing the Minister of State's view on the ongoing commitment the Government has made through the United Nations to continue supplying Army personnel in the area, particularly given what is going on with Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, ISIS, and with the Syrian civil war having spilled over into Lebanon, and whether he believes there is a role for Irish troops in the future. It is no longer as simple or straightforward as it was when Ireland first sent peacekeeping forces to Lebanon when the mandate was clearer. It has now been muddied considerably. I am concerned that Ireland will be drawn into a conflict not of its own making and that Army personnel would be endangered. This was not the original intention when Irish troops were there primarily as a peacekeeping force.

I ask the Minister of State - perhaps he will not wish to comment on this issue - what is the Government's attitude to the continuing advance of ISIS. Does he believe it is leading to even more instability in the region? Ireland is involved, albeit on the fringes. Given the way things are going and the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the Syrian civil war and because Lebanon has always tended to always as a result of whatever is going on in Syria which for a long time dominated Lebanese politics, has or will the Government take a position on the issue or is a decision on it being left to greater powers? I am not suggesting Ireland should be drawn into it in any way; I am only thinking in terms of the safety of Army personnel.

I welcome back the Army battalion that arrived home last night to a very warm welcome from families and friends. It was in contrast with what I read about the return of the Philippine battalion, following its particular difficulties. There was a parade and the battalion was enthusiastically embraced by the population of the Philippines. Does the Minister of State think the decision by the Philippine Government not to send further troops to the area will have any influence on the Government's decision in that regard.