Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

It is at present. Like the Deputy, I wish our troops well in southern Lebanon. We discussed this issue at some length a few days ago in the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. The troops are performing a very important task in a fraught part of the world. As I said at the committee, I am committed to continuing the involvement of our troops in overseas missions. I anticipate that the troops who are going to Lebanon will return in December, when another contingent will go there to be joined by the Finnish troops who are also part of this deployment.

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