The deployment of up to 400 Irish troops, as part of an EU mission to eastern Chad, was subject to logistical difficulties being resolved, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said.
He was replying to Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, who asked if the Cabinet was satisfied with the Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea's briefing that sufficient logistical and air transport capacity was being supplied by other European countries so that the mission could be undertaken with the necessary degree of safety and the protection of Irish troops.
Mr Ahern said that the force commander, Lieut-General Nash, was not yet satisfied because at least two, or maybe more, logistical issues had to be resolved.
"The Government is obviously giving its approval but subject to when the force commander is satisfied. It is a great honour that he is an Irish man, but that is neither here nor there in this instance. It is his call and at the moment there are a few remaining logistical issues."
Mr Ahern said it was a difficult mission because Chad was an enormous country, bigger than the United Kingdom, Spain, France and Germany put together.
He added that Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern would talk about the issue when dealing with parliamentary questions in the House.
