THE Irish government is owed more than €1.3m by the United Nations in unpaid bills for troops on peacekeeping duties. The Department of Defence is due over €880,000 for ongoing commitments in Lebanon where a small group of Irish troops remain. The exchequer is also owed €423,000 for the mission in Liberia where more than 300 troops were stationed for close to four years.

A statement from the Department of Defence said: "As of 30 September 2008, the amount of arrears due to the Department of Defence from the UN in relation to troop and other costs for UN missions is approximately €1.303m. Of this amount, €423,125 relates to participation by the Defence Forces in the UN Mission in Liberia (Unmil) and €880,090 relates to participation in the Un Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil).

"The Defence Forces concluded their service with Unmil in early 2008. The only mission for which this department is entitled to reimbursement of certain costs in 2008 is Unifil with which mission seven Defence Forces personnel are currently serving."

Security analyst Declan Power said: "The government should push for this money and remind the UN that they are getting the benefit of a highly trained force.

"Our troops bring their own equipment unlike many of the other contributing nations that would be involved in peacekeeping missions."

In 1999, when Ireland's involvement in peacekeeping in the Unifil mission in Lebanon was near its peak, the UN owed the department more than €10m. Some €4m of that related to death and disability benefits, some of which dated back to 1975. It is thought this portion of the debt has now been cleared.

The UN said the debts are at least in part due to the substantial arrears it is owed by the US. The US currently owes the UN some €1.5bn in past budgetary obligations, which seems unlikely to be repaid any time soon in the current economic climate. The US is by far the largest contributor to the UN budget but fewer than 300 of 90,000 UN troops and police currently deployed are American.