Department denies Liberian naval mission cancelled because of cost
Fine Gael defence spokesman Dinny McGinley said the LE Eithne was ready last week to leave Cork for the trip to West Africa and that parcels were collected from relatives of those serving in the war-ravaged country.
Deputy McGinley said it was cancelled without explanation, but believes it was because the Department of Defence would have to pay the full amount of the trip. The United Nations would pay the bill, if the re-supply was carried out by civilian air carriers.
He has asked Defence Minister Michael Smith for a full explanation and wants to know who made the decision to start planning the trip and collect the parcels and who decided to cancel. The Naval Service appears to have organised the trip before getting the green light. It was proposed the LE Eithne pick up equipment left by the Army Rangers while at the same time bringing out a certain number of parcels.
A Department of Defence spokesman said there were informal discussions about a trip by the LE Eithne, but that no firm proposal was put to the minister.
“The minister was never approached and asked to sanction this cruise. It was never raised at a decision-making level,” said the spokesman. “The Naval Service made some tentative inquiries, brought it up informally with the Department. We said draw up a firm proposal, but never received any such proposal. It would have had to go through the General Staff in the first place.”
A spokesman for the Defence Forces said there was a rethink of the entire Liberian re-supply plan following the signing last Friday of a contract with the civilian airline, Air Partners. The company is to carry out 12 re-supplies over the next 12 months, the first within the next 10 days.
While the Defence Forces said parcels will be sent out by air, Mr McGinley said the cancellation of the trip by the LE Eithne is a “massive disappointment” for the troops in Liberia.
