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

I take that point. I may be exaggerating for effect to make a point. However, that scenario could be interpreted by the Senator's amendments. I know she makes a distinction between sending a contingent of Defence Force personnel on a peacekeeping mission, or an intervention mission of some sort, with postings. The wording of the Senator's proposed amendments, however, do not make that distinction. From an Irish perspective, there are a lot of checks and balances. The idea that I would send a contingent of Defence Forces personnel anywhere in the world without it being thoroughly scrutinised in the Oireachtas is very unlikely. We are very careful before we make decisions, and before we choose a partner to work with, of the obligations that I have in the Executive but also as a part of the Legislature to ensure the appropriate checks and balances are there. I think the 2006 Act does a pretty good job at setting the parameters around the circumstances in which we can send permanent Defence Forces personnel overseas, where we can send them, under what conditions we can do so and with what partners we can do so. It is pretty defined.

Honestly, my only motivation is to ensure that if a Minister for Defence who follows me in the future wants to be able to respond quickly and efficiently to something terrible that is happening in some part of the world, he or she does not get tied up in legislation that prevents him or her from doing that. The legislation at the moment does a pretty good job in terms of getting the balance right but I will reflect on our conversation before Report Stage.