O'Dea hits back at Greens' troops claim

The Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea today insisted claims by the Green Party that the lives of Irish troops would be put at risk by new rules on battlegroups were outrageous and unfounded.

The Greens warned legislation on the role of the Defence Forces would have a profound effect on peacekeeping duties allowing soldiers to be sent abroad, possibly to war, without the full approval of the state and UN.

But dismissing the allegations as a publicity stunt, Mr O’Dea said the proposed law would not damage Irish neutrality or threaten lives.

“I think today is a step too far. I think the suggestion lives are being deliberately put at risk by the Government is quite frankly outrageous, an outrageous claim,” he said.

The Defence Forces (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Seanad today and will be brought to the Dail ahead of the summer recess.

It will allow Ireland to join other European nations in sending troops as rapid response units to areas of conflict ahead of much larger forces. Mr O’Dea said it would only be done on the request of the United Nations.

The Green Party maintain sections of the act are farcical and dangerous, allowing Irish troops to go off with the Battlegroups prior to UN approval – to be rapidly ’assembled’ or ’embarked’, but not ’deployed’ – and without Dail approval for certain operations.

He said the Green Party stood alone in Europe in objecting to the creation of battlegroups and rapid reaction forces and insisted their arguments were unfounded.

“I don’t agree with them. I think they have continued to indulge in scaremongering about this quite irresponsibly and I think it is high time they stopped.”

The Limerick TD went on: “I have studied all three and I don’t find any substance with one of them.

“Today is just a shoddy attempt to get a bit of publicity and put a bit of clear blue water between themselves and other parties.”

Mr O’Dea was speaking at the launch of the Defence Forces’ annual report for 2005 in Cathal Brugha Barracks in Dublin where he revealed that Ireland was in talks with Sweden to join the Nordic battlegroup alongside Finland, Norway and Estonia.

The move could allow up to 200 Irish troops to join Scandinavian missions or to assist with niche contributions in communications, explosives or other areas.

But any proposal to join the Nordic group would have to approved by the Government.

The annual report showed last year over 2,200 Defence Forces personnel were deployed overseas in war-torn states such as Liberia, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Afghanistan.