Fifteen Irish companies have made claims, some for millions of pounds, to an Iraqi war reparation fund for commercial losses suffered as a result of the Gulf War.
The claims have been criticised by the Fianna Fail MEP, Mr Niall Andrews, who said 5,000 Iraqi children are dying every month and the country has already paid enough.
So far one company, Aer Lingus, has received a payment from the fund. The claim for $159,000, a spokesman said, was lodged in 1993. The company has received two payments, amounting to £87,000, and is expecting the third and final payment.
The claims were made to the Geneva-based United Nations Compensation Commission on Iraq (UNCCI), into which the Iraqis have paid a total of $11.5 billion to date.
"It is hard to believe 10 years after the Gulf War Iraq is still paying war reparations," Mr Andrews told The Irish Times.
"Since the Gulf War, one million children have died because of lack of proper food and medicinal supplies. They have paid enough. If I was running Aer Lingus I would not claim from the UNCCI, they always had the option of withdrawing the claim."
According to an Aer Lingus official, its claim related to the detention in May 1993 of six employees who were working in Kuwait when the war broke out, as part of a contract with Kuwait Airlines. He said that most civilian airlines had made claims to the commission relating to operational losses, the cancelling of routes or consequent losses.
Its claim, he said, related directly to the six employees. "Obviously we would have suffered (commercially) but we didn't get into that. We wanted compensation for the direct expenses incurred relating to the six staff, such as setting up a crisis centre, dealing with the families, offering counselling."
This week an Irish parliamentary delegation is visiting Iraq to review the effects of the continuing UN sanctions. The members include Mr John Gormley TD of the Green Party, ail TD Mr David Andrews TD of Fianna Fail, Labour TD Mr Michael D. Higgins, Senator Mick Lanigan of Fianna Fail, and Independent Senator Mr David Norris.
According to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, 15 companies, which it would not name but are based in Ireland, have made claims through the Department. Six of those companies did not receive compensation.
A further six claims are currently being processed and one company has withdrawn its claim. The Aer Lingus claim has been processed and compensation granted.
Mr Niall Andrews, who has visited Iraq twice this year, explained that the UN Oil for Food Programme began in December 1996. Since then Iraq has exported over 2,190 million barrels with an estimated total value exceeding $38.3 billion. He said that 30 per cent of that, $11.5 billion, has had to be paid to the UNCCI.
It was essential that Irish people were informed of the claims and the justification for them, he said. The lack of knowledge about the commission was startling.