Vol. 438 No. 6
11 Mr. Cullen asked the Minister for Defence the efforts, if any, that have been made to put the services of our UN school in the Curragh at the disposal of other countries considering UN peace-keeping; and if so, the response.
22 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Defence the up-to-date position regarding the establishment of a UN school by the Defence Forces.
78 Mr. Barrett asked the Minister for Defence the up-to-date position regarding the establishment of a UN school in the Defence Forces.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 22 and 78 together.
The UN school was established on 16 September 1993 and the school staff is in situ and working in such areas as briefings for personnel detailed for overseas service and the design of various courses of training. The first courses for Irish personnel about to depart for service with UN peace-keeping missions will take place later this month and in March.
There is no objection in principle to accepting students from other countries in due course. Considerable interest in the school has been shown by a number of foreign Governments and the question of providing courses for students from other countries is being pursued at present.
Will the Minister agree that in view of our extensive and successful experience serving on UN missions in various parts of the world the expertise that has been built up, particularly at command level, could be used to great benefit by opening up the UN school here to troops from various parts of the world? I understand the Minister is leaving for the UN this afternoon; I wish him well and apologise for upsetting him earlier. I hope it will not spoil his trip to New York.
It is all part of the democratic tension.
Will the Minister avail of the opportunity to suggest to Mr. Annan, who has responsibility in the whole peace-keeping area, that perhaps Ireland could offer this facility and earn an income from it and that we could do a worthwhile service for the UN in the whole area of training?
I thank the Deputy for his best wishes on the one hand and I will certainly raise the matter with Mr. Annan. When I set up this UN school, which is now fully operational in the Curragh Camp, at the beginning of my portfolio, I made the same suggestion that we open it up to other countries. It is interesting to note that three countries have evinced an interest in coming here, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Hungary. Unfortunately, we would be in competition with other peace-keeping nations because there are UN schools in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Austria. These countries have long established schools dedicated to the task we have given our school. Our school is fully operational, open to all countries and, as the Deputy properly says, we probably have an outstanding record of peace-keeping compared to any other country in the world.
