Irish troops in line for Lebanon duty

Irish troops could be serving in the war-torn Lebanon region within weeks, the Defence Minister revealed today.

Willie O’Dea confirmed up to 150 soldiers could be deployed by mid-November to the Lebanon which was badly damaged by Israeli bombings during a 34-day offensive.

He said they would be sent to the area to provide protection and security for around 250 Finnish soldiers, who specialise in mine clearance, construction engineering and humanitarian work.

“Ireland will provide security and protection for our mission partners Finland, as they carry out vital rebuilding engineering and construction work,” Mr O’Dea said on the prospective plans to deploy troops.

“Subject to military advice and recommendations following the reconnaissance mission I envisage I will be in a position to seek Cabinet and Dáil approval in early October.”

The Defence Forces personnel would travel to the area as part of a Joint Irish-Finnish partnership – UNIFIL 11.

Mr O’Dea said discussions have been taking place with the Finnish authorities who travelled to Dublin on September 7. He confirmed Irish officers would take part in a reconnaissance mission to Lebanon next week.

The Defence Department confirmed more talks will take place on September 25 in Helsinki.

“The safety and security of Irish troops is of paramount importance to me so the military authorities’ advice in this regard is vital in terms of a final decision to deploy to the region. The United Nations will also have to approve our Joint proposal with Finland and the final nature of the proposed mission before any deployment,” he said.

Mr O’Dea added: “Our troops would be mainly focused on providing security and protection for the Finnish engineers, who as I say will be doing reconstruction work, so from that point of view they certainly wouldn’t be in what you might call the front line.”

Under the "triple-lock" mechanism, Cabinet approval would have to be sought before any troops could be deployed.

Around 17 troops were serving in the Middle East when fighting broke out in Lebanon in mid-July.

In July, several wives and children of Irish Defence Forces personnel serving in the Lebanon were evacuated safely following the onslaught of bombings.

At the start of this month, international donors pledged more than €734 for immediate relief efforts to help repair Lebanon’s badly damaged infrastructure.