As of 1 January 2001 Ireland was owed approximately £7.9 million for the cost of providing Irish personnel to United Nations peacekeeping missions abroad. The missions for which Ireland is entitled to reimbursement of troop costs by the UN are the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, UNFICYP, and the United Nations Transitional Authority in East Timor, UNTAET. Continuous efforts are made by my Department to recover moneys owed from the United Nations. During 2000 Ireland received approximately £9.1 million in arrears.
The financial crisis which has hindered the UN from paying outstanding moneys is a direct result of past failures by many member states, in particular the US, to pay their assessed contributions to the UN regular and peacekeeping budgets in full and on time. This situation has resulted in a serious day to day UN cash flow problem. Ireland and its EU partners have strenuously argued that all UN member states must honour their financial obligations.