THE WORSENING recession in Ireland would have no impact on the future of the Defence Forces’ participation in the international peace enforcement mission in Chad, Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea has said.
On a visit to Irish troops at their base in Goz Beida in eastern Chad yesterday, Mr O’Dea said the UN would, from next month, cover much of Ireland’s expenditure on the mission. Given the €20 million-plus cost of transporting the Defence Forces’ equipment back to Ireland, it would prove more costly to pull out of Chad now than stay on for another year or longer.
“I’d anticipate that the United Nations’ presence will be required here for much longer than a year, whether the Irish are part of it or not,” Mr O’Dea said. “We’ll stay as long as we possibly can.”
The cost of the mission over the past 12 months has been €57 million. More than €20 million was spent on transporting equipment and vehicles to Chad. Because the current EUfor mission is a European Union action, rather than a United Nations one, none of the €57 million is reimbursable to the Government.
However, from March 15th, when the UN assumes responsibility for the mission, about 60 per cent of all future costs will be covered by the UN. Said Mr O’Dea: “If we were transporting the equipment back this year, you could argue it would be more costly to pull out of Chad at the moment than actually stay here.”
As well as meeting with the Irish troops in their Camp Ciara base, he also visited the nearby Djabal refugee camp – this is just one camp in Chad for more than 450,000 refugees from neighbouring Darfur and internally displaced persons.
Mr O’Dea was presented with a request list from one of the refugee leaders for items such as computers, books, sewing machines, televisions, a fridge, generators and a piano. He pledged to bring the request to the Government.
Mr O’Dea said the nature of the request and the fact he was able to visit the camp – off-limits for security reasons during his first visit last June – demonstrated the improvement in living conditions since the Irish arrived a year ago.
“The presence of the troops here, thinly stretched and all as they may be, is the difference between life and death. The people in this country, a forgotten part of Africa, are among the most vulnerable people on the planet,” he said.
Some 3,300 EUfor troops, of which the Irish number 416, are in Chad to shore up security and offer protection. Most of the refugees have fled years of fighting in Sudan’s Darfur region.
Mr O’Dea returns to Ireland today after his three-day trip.