THE possibility of affiliating to NATO through its related organisation, the Partnership for Peace (PfP), will be fully examined in the coming months, the Minister for Defence has said.
Speaking to the Representative Association for Commissioned Officers (RACO) yesterday Mr Barrett said that apart from the European "micro states" like the Holy See, Andorra, Liechenstein and Cyprus, and the once belligerent states of former Yugoslavia, the Republic was the only remaining state which had not joined PfP.
Finland, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland, countries with strong traditions of military neutrality, have all joined PfP.
Officials from the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Defence met senior NATO officials last year to "explore the benefits which Ireland might derive from participation" in the PIP, he said.
He added: "These consultations confirmed our understanding that each participating state can determine the terms and scope of its contribution; that participation would have no implications for Ireland's policy of military neutrality; and that the PIP has already proven itself as a key forum for peacekeeping co operation involving almost all of the major peacekeeping countries.
"During the consultations NATO representatives expressed appreciation of Ireland's peacekeeping role and achievements." Ireland would have "much to offer in this crucial area through participation in PIP".
He continued: "There is some distance to go yet on this entire matter, but now that the EU presidency is over it is expected that the situation will be more fully examined in the coming months.
"I have no doubt that should Ireland decide to participate, the Defence Forces could make a significant contribution in view of their great wealth of experience in peacekeeping."
The Minister's remarks come after it recently emerged that the Government is considering sending a contingent of soldiers to serve with the NATO commanded peacekeeping force in former Yugoslavia.
In his address to the special one day delegate conference of RACO members, the Minister described allegations by Fianna Fail and others that he was deliberately delaying the publication of a review of the Naval Service and Air Corps as "mischievous".
He said the Government had already made provision for a £7 million down payment on a new ship for the Naval Service and said both it and the Air Corps would have adequate personnel and resources for their roles.
The RACO president, Cmdt Con McNamara, said the association would oppose any attempt to civilianise the search and rescue operations carried out by the Air Corps.
RACO, along with the other Defence Forces and Garda staff associations, was seeking a direct input into national pay talks along with the other social partners. Mr Barrett said the Government had no objection to "associations such as yours being allowed an input into the determination of your own financial futures".
Cmdt McNamara warned the Minister morale in the Defence Forces was plummeting due to the programme to reduce personnel numbers by 1,500. He called for a Government commitment that salary sayings from voluntary redundancies would be reinvested in the Defence Forces.
RACO was also seeking a White Paper on the role of the De fence Forces. Cmdt McNamara said the Defence Forces were being reorganised "without having articulated a vision of what we want of the forces in the future and of the nature of, the force we want to create."