A claim that the Defence Forces presence in Kosovo may be illegal has been dismissed as the argument over the legislation providing for the mission resurfaced after the publication a new Defence Bill today.
The Labour Party re-iterated its claim that the existing Defence Acts (1960 and 1993) only provided for missions established by UN resolution rather than those authorised without a vote.
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| Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea |
Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea has consistently maintained that the Attorney General has advised that missions without resolution still fall within the meaning of the existing Acts.
The spat took a turn this afternoon when it emerged that the advice had originally been given in 1996 to the Rainbow Government which included Labour.
Mr O'Dea has acknowledged a revised wording was required but said this was due to the changing structures of the UN.
The Defence (Amendment) Act 2006 contains a new phrasing for Irish missions which states the Defence Forces may join a peacekeeping force "established, mandated, authorised, endorsed, supported, approved or otherwise sanctioned by a resolution of the Security Council or the General Assembly of the United Nations."
Labour's defence spokesman Joe Costello said the new wording supported his party's assertion that the existing Acts did not allow for missions such as Kosovo, which was not established by UN resolution.
He said Mr O'Dea had "knowingly misled the Dáil, the public, and perhaps the Defence Forces and the Government, by relying on legal advice that he knew was out of date and inaccurate."
A spokesman for Mr O'Dea said Mr Costello's claims were "unsustainable". "The consistent advice of the Attorney General, since January 1996, has, and continues to be, that missions established or authorised by the UN Security Council fall within the requirements of the existing Defence Acts," the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael defence spokesman Billy Timmins criticised the new Bill saying it allows other states a veto over Irish Defence Forces activities.
He said the Bill the Defence Forces could be dispatched overseas with the approval of Government but must await a UN resolution before participating in a mission.
Mr Timmins said: "Ireland could be left in the farcical situation where a contingent of our Defence Forces is in readiness for their Government-supported mission, for example with other forces in an EU Member State or positioned on a ship, but are unable to do anything other than sit on their hands."