Vol. 500 No. 5
54 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps, if any, being taken to secure outstanding payments in respect of Irish troops serving with UN contingents abroad; the total amount due to Ireland in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4373/99]
As of January 1999, the amount owing to Ireland by the UN arising from our participation in peacekeeping operations was IR£7.6 million. Most of these arrears are owed in respect of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a peacekeeping operation to which Ireland provides a troop battalion of some 620 personnel, our most significant commitment to the maintenance of international peace and security under the UN Charter. In the second half of 1998, the UN repaid arrears to Ireland totalling some IR£5.2 million.
Despite the significant repayments made by the UN last year, and the continuing downward trend in the overall amount owing to Ireland, the issue of arrears remains of considerable concern. This matter is pursued on an ongoing basis by the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations in New York. We have consistently stated our view that every effort should be made by the UN to reduce the amount of arrears owing to troop-contributing countries such as Ireland. In the course of the visit to Ireland by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan last month, I again raised Irelands concerns regarding arrears. The Secretary General indicated that he appreciated our concerns, and that he has been working towards improving the arrears situation.
It is clear that the problem of arrears owing to Ireland and other troop-contributing countries is a result of the financial crisis which the UN has been experiencing for the last number of years, and is not due to any unwillingness on the part of the UN Secretariat to clear arrears. The financial crisis has been caused by the failure of many member states, and in particular the US, to pay their assessed contributions to the UN regular and peacekeeping budgets in full and on time. The overall problem of arrears owing to the UN has led to a situation in which the Secretary General has been forced to delay normal reimbursements to troop contributors in order to deal with the serious day-to-day cash flow situation facing the UN system. Ireland, along with our EU partners, is firm in the demand that all member states of the UN should honour promptly and in full their financial obligations to the Organisation under the UN Charter, and we have repeatedly lobbied UN member states regarding the payment of arrears.
We hope that efforts to resolve the UN financial crisis will lead to a reduction and eventual clearance of debts owing to Ireland and other troop-contributing countries. Ireland's permanent mission to the UN in New York will continue to make regular representations in this context.
