Sir, - I was surprised and disappointed to read the article by Michael D. Higgins TD headed, "Commitment to democratic policy formation is very shallow" (The Irish Times, December 29th).
Mr Higgins claims that the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, and other Oireachtas committees, have been neglected. In support of this claim, he points a reproving finger at my recent performance, and that of my colleague the Minister for Defence, particularly in regard to the EU's "Rapid Reaction Force" in support of the EU's humanitarian and peacekeeping missions, i.e. the "Petersberg tasks".
The record shows that I and my colleagues in Government have made every effort to support and facilitate the relevant Oireachtas Committees and we value their contribution to the work of the Oireachtas in matters of foreign policy. Just 10 days earlier, on December 19th, I met with the European Affairs Committee and members of the Foreign Affairs Committee on the outcome of the Nice European Council. That three-and-a-half-hour committee session allowed an in-depth discussion of the range of issues arising from Nice, including many of the matters concerning the "Rapid Reaction Force" which Mr Higgins raises in his article. Perhaps if Mr Higgins (or indeed any Labour Party member of either committee) had chosen to attend that meeting, visions of Talleyrand and mandarins would not have disturbed his Christmas ruminations. More importantly, it might have spared us his confusion on a point where I have striven to ensure clarity. A United Nations mandate is required if Ireland is to send a contingent to an EU-led "Petersberg" mission. Mr Higgins alleges that the relevant legislation - the Defence (Amendment) Act 1960 - does not mention UN approval. This is incorrect and it is worth quoting the Act in order to allay any doubts on this point. The 1960 Act provides that "a contingent of the Permanent Defence Force may be despatched for service outside the State as part of a particular International United Nations Force if, but only if, a resolution has been passed by Dail Eireann approving of the despatch of a contingent of the Permanent Defence Force for service outside the State as part of that International United Nations Force". The Act defines an "International United Nations Force" as a force or body established by the United Nations Security Council or General Assembly.
The Taoiseach, the Minister for Defence and I have repeatedly underlined the need for a UN mandate to be in place before any contingent is sent abroad as part of an EU-led humanitarian or crisis management mission, as provided for in the existing legislation. Furthermore, the White Paper on Defence published in February 2000 set out at length the Government's approach to participation in overseas peace support operations and reiterated that participation in such activities by Ireland in the European domain will take place in the context of the Petersberg tasks and when authorised by the UN.
In statements to the Dail, in replies to parliamentary questions and in the media, the Taoiseach, the Minister for Defence and I have set out the background and context of the "Rapid Reaction Force", including virtually all the issues mentioned by Mr Higgins in his article. Your readers may recall my detailed article on this matter, published in this paper on November 19th. As recently as November 28th, Mr Higgins had the courtesy to thank me for my lengthy and informative reply to his priority Dail question on this matter.
A point raised by Mr Higgins in his article on which I have not previously commented publicly concerns the future of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Western European Union. The Foreign Affairs Committee met recently with the President of the Assembly and adopted a motion on this matter. When this motion was brought to my attention, I took the opportunity to write to the committee's chairman setting out briefly the state of play on the issue and stressing, in conclusion, that "the Committee's views will usefully inform Ireland's position as we move forward on these questions". Hardly the approach of a Minister who was seeking to weaken the Committee "by a process of attrition" (sic). - Yours, etc.,
Brian Cowen, TD, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dublin 2.