Ireland's peace-keeping role in the United Nations mission to Kosovo may be illegal under Irish law, the Labour Party claimed today.
As Minster for Defence Willie O'Dea flew out to visit our 1,000-strong contingent in Kosovo, Labour's defence spokesman Joe Costello said Ireland's presence may not conform with the Defence Acts because the mission was not established by UN Security Council resolution.
Mr O'Dea strongly denied the claim and said Mr Costello's comments misled the public and were "reprehensible and irresponsible".
The argument centres around the wording of the Defence Acts (1960 & 1993) which allow for Irish participation in UN peace-keeping missions.
Mr Costello said the legislation requires the missions to be "established", rather than just authorised, by the UN.
"The distinction is an important one. There are traditional 'blue hat' operations, where the UN itself establishes and directly organises the mission. And there are also UN-authorised operations, where other bodies such as the EU or NATO put the team together, having been authorised by the Security Council to do so," Mr Costello said.
"If our Defence Act entitles us to take part in the first sort of mission but not the second, then we had no lawful authority to send thousands of troops to Kosovo and to keep over 1,000 troops in Kosovo to this day."
It appears the Government is planning to rush legislation though the Oireachtas to resolve the problem despite having been made aware of it more than a year ago, Mr Costello added.
When the matter was raised last March by the Labour Party, Mr O'Dea referred to advice from the Attorney General's office which indicated there was no legal difference between missions established by resolution and those simply approved.
Mr Costello said the Minister must explain whether the AG's advice has changed and if so why.
He should also say when he informed the Government about a problem "that goes to the heart of the legality of Ireland's international peace-keeping commitments", Mr Costello added.
Mr O'Dea insisted the new Bill was not being put forward to address a loophole and that Irish participation in Kosovo complies with the "triple lock" mechanism for authorising military deployment.
He accepted however that changes in the structure of the UN required a revised wording of Irish defence legislation. The new Bill would contain "an avoidance-of-doubt measure relating to possible future resolutions", Mr O'Dea said.
"Under existing legislation, Ireland may participate in missions "established" or "authorized" by the UN. Questions could arise where missions were "endorsed" or "supported".
He also said the mission to Kosovo was supported by UNSC Resolution 1244 and insisted the Bill was not being rushed through the Dáil.