asked the Minister for Defence the effect that the large amounts of money due from the United Nations for peacekeeping duties is having on his Department and on the progress of facilities and equipment within the Army; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - UN Peacekeeping Costs.
26.
Receipts from the United Nations in respect of costs incurred in peacekeeping operations are credited to the Vote for Defence as Appropriations-in-Aid. Such receipts are estimated in advance for the purposes of the Vote and expenditure on facilities and equipment for the Defence Forces is not affected.
Is it not true that the money owed to us has already been spent by us out of a previous Estimate for service by our troops overseas? Is it not also true that over £14 million is owed to this country by the United Nations from three different funds? Would the Minister agree that, if this money were available to his Department, it would go a long way towards providing part of a new headquarters and new equipment? Can he inform the House of any plans to exert pressure on the UN to ensure that those who owe money to the various funds will make their contributions to ensure that Ireland, a small nation making its financial and military contribution to world peace, will get due and fair recompense?
I would accept that we are owed something in excess of £14 million for services rendered in the peacekeeping area in the UNIFIL force and also in Cyprus and as far back as our operations in the Congo. We are owed that because other UN member nations do not, for some reason, see fit to pay their contributions to the UN as we do, an enormous contribution in terms of money and peacekeeping through our personnel in different areas. It is unfortunate.
The Deputy asked me what plans I might have. This is primarily a matter for the Minister for Foreign Affairs who loses no opportunity in his contact with the Secretary General, privately and in consultation with other member states, to impress on all concerned the importance of contributions being made by member states. It is difficult to say how far we can go to pressurise the Secretary General if he has not got the money in the form of contributions from member states. It is a serious matter. We are pursuing it and in the current year we have written in £7 million in appropriations-in-aid, a provision for receipts from the UN for the current year.
Can the Minister tell us whether payments coming to this fund from the UN are made annually or biannually? Overseas service is one of the great incentives for Army members and I should like the Minister to undertake to the House that he will exert all possible pressure on his colleagues in Government to ensure that some regular payments will be made to us from the UN.
There is no need to impress on my colleagues the matters to which the Deputy referred. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, the man directly involved, has made every effort on various occasions to point out the seriousness of the position. We are playing our part — at the moment we are going beyond the call of duty in what we are doing — in UNIFIL and elsewhere. We expect to be fully recompensed.
What is the system of payment?
I am not very clear. I will inform the Deputy.