The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, said yesterday that he hoped Irish soldiers would be part of any United Nations peacekeeping and humanitarian mission which might be sent to Afghanistan in the "post-Taliban" period.
Speaking at the annual conference of the officers' representative association, RACO (Representative Association of Commissioned Officers), Mr Smith said he wished to see further reforms in the military in respect of promotion based on merit and that he would not tolerate any form of sexual harassment or bullying in the Defence Forces.
Earlier, RACO expressed concern to the Minister about the outflow of young officers, particularly those with technical qualifications, from the Defence Forces.
Speaking outside the conference hall, Mr Smith said he had been considering a possible role for the Defence Forces in Afghanistan.
Although it was too early to raise this at Cabinet, he said he believed Irish troops should be in any UN mission in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban.
He said: "When I consider the difficulties the ordinary innocent people of Afghanistan are suffering, I believe we need to try and have a professional Army properly equipped and trained and motivated to serve there. I am talking about a mission under the UN and with Government and Dβil approval.
"The harrowing pictures that we have seen show the need for restoring peace and some sense of normality in a post-Taliban situation. It is something that we would have to consider very seriously."
In his address to the conference yesterday Mr Smith said he was very concerned at reports of widespread sexual harassment arising from a study of the experiences of women in the Defence Forces. He said: "Not only is such conduct simply unacceptable, but such unfavourable reports do great damage to the image of the Defence Forces as a potential career option.
"The Chief of Staff (Lt-Gen Colm Mangan) has already addressed this issue in some detail, so let me simply welcome the establishment of his board to examine this matter. I was delighted to nominate Ms Eileen Doyle, a highly-qualified and experienced consultant, to this board.
"The message must go out across the Defence Forces that all forms of bullying and harassment will not be tolerated and I urge everyone here to give the fullest support to the Chief of Staff's board in carrying out its important work."
Mr Smith said he was concerned at the effects of the lack of opportunity in the Defence Forces for rapid career advancement. He said he wished to see the ablest young officers have the opportunity of reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel by their 30s.
At present, the average age for reaching this rank, based on the present system of promotion, is understood to be in the early to mid-50s.
Replying to the Minister, the president of RACO, Lt-Col Paul Allen, said there was a serious problem in the Defence Forces in holding on to well-qualified young officers. RACO pointed out that some 328 officers have taken early retirement or bought themselves out of the Defence Forces since 1996; many of these were in the technical corps.