Defence (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2021-10-20
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Alice-Mary Higgins (IND), National University of Ireland

This is my concern. My concern is with the way this is worded and framed at the moment. It suggests that any organisation that has worked under a UN mandate could become an organisation to which we could second staff, or to which we could second a contingent of the Irish Defence Forces. Moreover, with this new legislation, it could be an organisation to which we could delegate command. In that context, that is exactly my point. If we are working with NATO under a UN mandate, that is fine. That is what we are doing. However, simply having done that before, by working with NATO on mine clearance under a UN mandate in the past should not mean that NATO should be given a stamp of approval, because it has once done something with us for the UN. Therefore, it might become a regional force to which we second persons or to which we may delegate command control. That is the concern. That is where the "or has participated" is relevant. This is my-----

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2021-10-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:49:43+00:00
Sitting date: 2021-10-20