Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan that Iran has an important role to play in this regard and that it should be part of the Geneva II process. I spoke by telephone with the new Foreign Minister of Iran recently and exchanged with him Ireland's views on the situation and the role Iran might play. As for the issue of chemical weapons, as I mentioned in my opening contribution the use of chemical weapons has been banned since 1925. This applies consistently and Ireland's view is that it is a war crime and one must work towards their complete elimination. It is not simply a case of their use but it also concerns their manufacture, stockpiling and maintenance. We need a world that is free of such weapons.

On the issue of Irish troops, as the Deputy is aware, the Government has decided to deploy 114 members of the Irish Defence Forces to the UNDOF mission on the Golan Heights and four officers already are deployed there at present. The initial detachment will go out this Friday and the balance will follow approximately one week later. Clearly, the circumstances in which they operate, their safety and the safety of their operating environment are matters of the greatest importance to the Government. It was an issue on which the Government had extensive discussions with United Nations when the request came from the latter to participate in the UNDOF mission. I spoke directly with Secretary-General Ban about both the request and in particular the measures that needed to be taken to ensure the safety of the troops. This is an issue about which we will have continuing discussions. I expect to meet Secretary-General Ban again during the United Nations General Assembly week and to have further discussion with him about it. I am aware there have been some media reports regarding the evacuation of civilian staff and family members of the UNIFIL personnel in Lebanon. The current information we have from the United Nations is that no decision has been made on the evacuation of UNIFIL personnel or their family members. As it happens, no family members are accompanying Irish personnel in Lebanon in any event. The UNIFIL mission continues to implement all mandated tasks and in line with the requirements of all UN missions, it reviews constantly and updates its contingency plans.

The Jasmine Tent is a civil society initiative to provide psychosocial support for victims of violence and involves people from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. It is very important work and officials of my Department are facilitating links with some of our implementing partners in the field.