Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To be helpful to the House, the following has been pointed out to me and is worth mentioning. There are already quite strict limitations in law on the roles and functions for which the Defence Forces can be deployed overseas.

If you look at the 2006 Act, under section 3, it is quite clear on this:

(1) A contingent or member of the Permanent Defence Force may, with the prior approval of and on the authority of the Government, be despatched for service outside the State for the purposes of— (a) carrying out duties as a military representative or filling appointments or postings outside the State, including secondments to any international organisation,

(b) conducting or participating in training,

(c) carrying out ceremonial duties, participating in exchanges or undertaking visits,

(d) undertaking monitoring, observation or advisory duties,

(e) participating in or undertaking reconnaissance or fact-finding missions,

(f) undertaking humanitarian tasks in response to an actual or potential disaster or emergency,

(g) participating in sporting events, or

(h) inspecting and evaluating stores, equipment and facilities. (2) Nothing in this section shall prevent the Government from giving general approval, for such period of time as they determine, to such classes of any of the activities specified in subsection (1)

We already have quite a lot of clarity in the legislation on the kind of duties we can ask of our personnel in respect of interventions and so on. My fear is that if we put too many restrictions in place, we just do not know what, in a month's, a year's or ten years' time, may trigger an appropriate intervention that involves Irish Defence Forces personnel. We are and have become used to the classic peacekeeping roles under a UN mandate, whether it is in UNIFIL, UNDOF in Mali, in Kosovo or wherever.However, I think we are likely to see in the future peacekeeping, peace enforcement and humanitarian interventions that in many ways are more complex and more challenging. The Irish Defence Forces are really good with those interventions. We match any country in the world, in my view, when it comes to training and equipping our personnel for those kinds of interventions. I just want to make sure a Minister can make a decision in a timely manner that is appropriate while, of course, being accountable for that decision to the Oireachtas. However, I would caution against putting in legislation anything that ties the Minister's hands further. I take the point the Senator has made, though, and I will think about it between now and Report Stage. For now, I do not think I can accept the amendment.