Cabinet Approves Transfer Of Command For Irish Troops In Chad

The Minister for Defence, Mr Willie O'Dea, T.D., has secured Cabinet approval for the transfer of command of the Irish contingent currently serving with the UN mandated EU-led mission in Chad, EUFOR Tchad/RCA, to the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) when EUFOR's mandate expires next month.

Minister O'Dea will now proceed to seek Dáil approval for the transfer of Irish personnel to the UN mission on 15 March 2009 and for the rotation of further contingents of the Permanent Defence Force for service with MINURCAT for a period of 12 months from 15 March 2009.

This will complete the Triple Lock mechanism of UN, Government and Dáil approval before Irish personnel transfer to the UN mission in Chad. As the proposed follow-on force will be a UN-led operation, the UN will reimburse certain costs.

On 14 January 2009, the Security Council unanimously adopted Security Council Resolution 1861 (2009), authorising the deployment of a military component of MINURCAT to replace the EUFOR mission at the end of its mandate.

Currently, 434 members of the Permanent Defence Force are serving with the EUFOR mission (18 at the Operational HQ in Paris and 416 in Chad). The Defence Forces commitment to MINURCAT will be for an initial period of one year. Subject to the renewal of the UN mandate, a satisfactory review of the mission and available resources, a decision will be taken by the Government in early 2010, as to whether Defence Forces participation in the UN force after March 2010 should be extended.