Government leaves door open for Irish troops in Asia

The Government this evening left open the possibility of Irish troops being sent to help the survivors of the Asian tsunami.

The group would comprise of Department officials, a medical expert, and an Irish Army logistic expert. They will be assess what use, if any, the Army could be.

They will travel to other affected areas following a fact-finding mission in conjunction with the UN and Irish aid agencies working in Thailand. Any decision to send Irish troops will be made in consultation with aid groups, the minister said.

"We can't just send out a hundred troops from Ireland and not do it in a co-ordinated way," Mr Ahern said, adding that some of the affected countries had already indicated they did not need outside military help.

Mr Ahern said the "triple lock" system, requiring UN, Government and Dáil approval for military mobilisations, could be overcome if necessary. Normally, Irish troops are only sent on foreign missions under this system.

"If it's required, one way or another we'll get over that," he said. "If we are requested to give logistical military help, we will give it."

The Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO), which represents over 90 per of senior Army officers, called for the Irish Army to be deployed and insisted the Government does not need to wait for a United Nations mandate to send troops abroad.

"What we are saying is let's not be inhibited by the UN mandate," Commandant Aidran Ryan of ROCA said. "We have a disaster here, and we don't believe the triple lock applies in these circumstances, apart from the need for a decision by the Government and the Dáil."

Speaking outside Government Buildings after this evening's meeting, Mr John O'Shea of Goal said he was "delighted to hear Bertie say effectively 'here is an open chequebook'".

He also said he was "confident" the Army could be in place by the weekend after assurances received by Mr Ahern and the Taoiseach during the hour-long meeting.

Prior to the meeting, Mr O'Shea said the Irish Army was experienced in dealing with humanitarian emergencies and were "trained to get to the point of action in limited time".

Mr Dermot Ahern told reporters that aid of €10 million would not be immediately increased, but it was being constantly reviewed. The Government is "more than willing" to do whatever it can to help the victims of the disaster.

He will be attending a meeting of European Union foreign, health and development ministers in Brussels on Friday to help draft an EU plan for bringing aid to the stricken people of the Indian Ocean.

Mr Ahern earlier confirmed the Government's donations were "brand new money" and were not being taken from the existing aid budget. He said the Government had increased its aid allocation as the scale of the disaster became apparent.

"At the start of this, nobody realised the enormity of it. It's only today the awful vista ahead of these nations is coming to the fore," he added.

Mr Ahern said he was extremely worried about four Irish people who were still missing. The ATM card of one of them, Ms Eilis Finnegan, from Ballyfermot, Dublin, was put on display by Thai police yesterday. Ms Lucy Coyle from Killiney in Dublin, Mr Conor Keightley from Co Tyrone and Mr Michael Murphy from Co Wexford are also missing.

Mr Ahern said this evening 13 missing Irish people, whose names were supplied by friends, were in the "medium risk" category, a reduction of four in this category.

He added that

a Garda technical team with expertise in DNA identification will also be travelling to Thailand to

help Irish Embassy staff.

Speaking after meeting with representatives of 16 aid agencies in Dublin, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ahern, said the Government was sending a technical team to Phuket, Thailand.