Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is an overseas establishment for all ranks above captain.

Anyone who looks at my record on acknowledging what Defence Forces personnel did at Jadotville will see that I was the Minister who brought a motion to Cabinet with the then Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, to acknowledge their gallantry and contribution at the time. It was only right and proper to do so.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh referred to a figure of more than 1,000 Defence Forces members on overseas missions. Each mission is of six months' duration. If there are 300 or 400 personnel on a mission, that number is doubled straightaway, as is the case with UNDOF where the numbers double in any 12-month period. One of the reasons I was happy that the Defence Forces were able to backfill for the 106 Finnish troops concerns retention. People who join the Defence Forces want to go overseas. In saying that, ensuring the safety of our personnel is paramount to me, the Department and military management. People want to go overseas and we try to accommodate that as early in their service as we can but that is not always possible. The same applies to Operation Sophia. The change to Operation Sophia does not mean we will not participate in other naval missions. I will consider requests to participate in any such future missions. We normally participate in only two large missions at any one time. The amount of work involved in mission readiness is huge and these missions involve not only the personnel being deployed overseas but many others, as well as the assets of the Defence Forces. I would not be satisfied if we were participating in three or four different missions. I would prefer to continue with two missions and ensure personnel are fully trained and we have the capacity to perform our duties.

The EUTM Mali, as a training mission, does not require Dáil approval under the 2006 Act. The Deputy also mentioned the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, MINUSMA. This matter is under active consideration at the moment and I will table a motion in the Dáil if we decide to participate. All Deputies will then have an opportunity to vote on that participation, which will only proceed with Government and Dáil approval.