Irish participation in EU battlegroups has been ruled out for the foreseeable future by the Minister for Defence, Mr O'Dea, because of major legal and constitutional difficulties.
The Minister's legal dilemma will cause embarrassment for the Government at European level because Ireland was part of the original decision to set up the battlegroups. These are rapid-response units of 1,500 soldiers each which would be deployed quickly in crisis situations.
However, the Minister said there were no obstacles in the way of Irish troops providing humanitarian aid in South-East Asia. He is awaiting a response from the United Nations to an offer of military and other assistance from the Government.
He told The Irish Times last night that the main obstacle to taking part in the EU battlegroups was the need for a UN mandate. The battlegroups would have to go into action at five or 10 days' notice but Mr O'Dea pointed out that a UN Security Council resolution usually takes longer.
Since Ireland lacks the resources to form a battlegroup on its own, it will be necessary to co-operate with other states, preferably neutral countries like Sweden or Finland.
But Mr O'Dea said this would mean sending Irish troops abroad for training, which appeared to be be illegal under the Defence Act of 1954. Likewise, he had been advised that foreign troops could not come here for training, since the Constitution specifies that there can be only one army in the State.
Article 15.6 of Bunreacht na hÉireann states that only the Oireachtas can raise or maintain a military or armed force. It is understood that there is disagreement in Government circles as to whether this applies to visiting Swedish or Finnish soldiers since it was originally intended to deprive the IRA of any claim to legitimacy.
Asked if the Government would seek to have the law or the Constitution changed, the Minister said, "We have no immediate plans." The Government was "trawling through" the legislation to confirm that training abroad was prohibited.
Accepting that the Government had been part of an EU-wide decision to set up the battlegroups for intervention in crisis areas, Mr O'Dea said, "Ireland approves of the battlegroups, but the point about it is, there are obstacles."
Chief among these was the need for a Security Council resolution before Ireland could take part in an overseas military mission. "The Security Council doesn't pass resolutions in five to 10 days," Mr O'Dea said. "That's a necessary mechanism to trigger our participation."
Sending Irish troops overseas on military missions is subject to the so-called "triple lock" of a UN mandate, Government decision and Dáil approval.
However, on the issue of military assistance in the Indian Ocean disaster area, Mr O'Dea said the Government had made an offer of military and other aid to the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, and was awaiting a reply.
Mr O'Dea said there was "a bit of confusion" about sending troops on humanitarian missions. These were not subject to the triple lock.