Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 33: To ask the Minister for Defence if plans have been completed to increase the number of Irish troops serving in Bosnia in view of his previous commitment in the Dáil Éireann during previous defence questions; the size of the increase; the date on which they will be deployed; the duration of the mission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23465/10]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Since the late 1990's, the Defence Forces have participated in peace support operations in the Western Balkans through their troop presence in the UN mandated NATO-led KFOR mission in Kosovo and in the UN mandated EU-led Operation ALTHEA (formerly SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

As outlined in the budget in December 2009, it had been decided that the Defence Forces commitments to overseas peace support operations would be scaled back in 2010 in response to the budgetary expenditure reductions. It had been decided to drawdown the Defence Forces personnel serving with EUFOR's Operation ALTHEA in Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 2010. This was based on an expectation that the transition of the EUFOR mission to a training and support mission would be well in train by that time. Moreover, it was also expected that the UN mission in Chad and the Central African Republic, MINURCAT would be the mainstay of our overseas operations for the foreseeable future. However, the transition to a smaller training and support mission is now expected to be completed in December 2010 and, in the meantime, the Defence Forces contingent has been withdrawn from Chad.

Against that background and following a request by EUFOR's Operation Commander, as I informed the House last month, I have decided to defer the drawdown of the Irish contingent from EUFOR, originally scheduled for July 2010, until the end of 2010. The Irish contingent will remain at its current level of 43 personnel.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 35: To ask the Minister for Defence his proposals regarding the participation by selected reserve personnel in peace support operations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23346/10]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 47: To ask the Minister for Defence the reason, in view of the fact that €20 to €30 million has been spent on reserve defence force annually, no reservists are qualified to take part in overseas service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23461/10]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 81: To ask the Minister for Defence his proposals, if any, regarding officers and NCO's of the Reserve Defence Forces retaining their rank for overseas missions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23350/10]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 35, 47 and 81 together.

The Reserve Defence Force's most important contribution, as outlined in the White Paper on Defence (2000), is to support the Permanent Defence Force in its contingency defence roles in an emergency situation. As such, in peacetime, the main function of the Reserve Defence Force is to train and prepare for these contingency roles. This accounts for the majority of Reserve expenditure.

The White Paper on Defence (2000), outlined an important change that RDF personnel should be considered for participation in overseas peace support missions, subject to appropriate qualifications, availability and advance training. This was identified as being an important motivational factor for Reservists.

The Reserve Defence Force Review Implementation Plan provided for a phased development of Reserve capabilities over the period to end 2009. It was anticipated that the improvements in capability delivered as part of the plan would contribute to facilitating a small number of Reservists with specialised skills serving on overseas peace support operations.

The military authorities had planned that Reservists would be drawn for overseas service from within the ranks of the integrated Reserve. A pilot integration programme was conducted in 2007 and continued into 2008. The numbers participating in these pilots was disappointing with just under 300 Reserve personnel participating.

To date, the operational requirements for overseas service have been met from within the Permanent Defence Force, without recourse to Reserve capabilities. The military authorities had identified a small number of overseas posts requiring specific skills that might be filled by members of the Reserve and had sought expressions of interest from suitably qualified Reservists who had undertaken integrated training.

The identification of Reservists, who may have been eligible and willing to apply for these overseas positions, was at an advanced stage in early 2009. Any commitment to overseas service by members of the Reserve was to be on a voluntary basis and a final decision in regards to their deployment was dependent on the selected personnel completing an extensive training schedule to up-skill to the requisite military standards to enable them to serve overseas.

In March 2009, the Government introduced a moratorium on recruitment to the Public Service. This moratorium prevented the planned recruitment of members of the Reserve to the PDF for the purpose of overseas service, as intended. Reductions in the Defence payroll budget at that time also limited the scope for payment of additional personnel. Accordingly, plans to send members of the Reserve overseas were suspended. As the pilot project to send a small number of Reservists overseas by end 2009 was at an advanced stage, its suspension was a disappointing development for all concerned.

As outlined in the budget in December 2009, Defence Forces commitments to overseas peace support operations are being scaled back in 2010. As a consequence, the number of PDF personnel serving overseas has reduced and there are no plans to send members of the Reserve overseas for the foreseeable future.

The terms of conditions for members of the Reserve who may be eligible to serve overseas in the future will be developed as appropriate.