Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

In January we had 758 military personnel serving overseas, but the Minister tells us that number is now reduced to 167. Our international credibility with the United Nations and with our fellow European Union member states is at stake. Our involvement in UN and EUFOR missions gives us a special footprint and a certain amount of authority as an international player. This international reputation will be damaged unless we have more involvement abroad, and that involvement should be at battalion level rather than sending out small numbers of personnel to various places.

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