IRISH SOLDIERS serving with the UN in Chad are banned from playing soccer and volleyball because of the danger of injuries, but they are allowed to practise judo and other martial arts, the Dáil has heard.
Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea denied a suggestion by Labour defence spokesman Brian O’Shea that the financial cost of repatriation for those with sports injuries was responsible for the ban. He insisted the decision “is not a question of finance but a question of . . . health and safety”.
He acknowledged, however, that 34 or 35 solders have already been repatriated, half for injuries, at a cost of about €60,000.
The cost of one sporting injury case is understood to be another €8,000 for a soldier who broke his shoulder and “had to be repatriated at short notice”. The soldier flew on a commercial flight with the “medic”, who returned. The cost of the return flight was included in that, Mr O’Dea said.
The commander of the Defence Forces carried out a risk assessment and the risk of “hospitalisation or permanent repatriation of personnel due to sports injuries was not acceptable to him, as all personnel are required for operational deployments on immediate notice”.
He “imposed a ban on competitive contact and other sports such as soccer and volleyball”, but personnel could run and there was a first-class gym “which includes such facilities as mats for engagement in judo and other self-defence activities which may assist personnel in warding off assaults”.
Mr O’Shea asked whether it was “overdoing” the “health and safety aspect” to ban soccer and volleyball when, as far as he was aware, there was only one sports injury.
He also expressed puzzlement that volleyball was one of the restricted sports, and suggested this was bad for morale. “Physical contact sports, be they in Chad or in Ireland, are a good way of letting off steam and of relaxing at the end of the day. The soldiers in Chad are in a pretty tough environment,” he said.
Mr O’Dea said that while health and safety should not be the sole criterion, “we cannot ignore it”. He was aware that one soldier had suffered a serious sports injury, and “certain of these activities can result in serious personal injury to people already in a hostile environment and running the risk of injury owing to their duties”.
He stressed: “The reality in Chad is that the ground is extremely hard.
“Some of the sports are played out on open ground and when people fall it tends to have a much greater impact on their bodies than falling in a field in Ireland, where the ground is not nearly as hard.” The Minister said that “while we would prefer it if there was no ban on any type of sporting activity, the force commander has a duty of care for the health and safety of the troops under his command.”
