Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I agree with the Deputy. We should be proud of what our forces do in Lebanon, as well as of the small contingents of members of the Defence Forces located in other parts of the world that are engaged in peacekeeping and peace support activities. It would be a good idea that there would be greater knowledge within the wider community of what is happening in Lebanon. The welcome visit by President McAleese will bring a focus to bear in this regard. Unfortunately, the reality in this media age is that good works of this nature being done often only get a media focus when an event of some kind takes place. Very often it is an event that gives rise to casualties or concerns as opposed to the fact we have troops on the ground and the area is calm and they are substantially contributing to maintaining that calm. I was engaged in discussions with the Chief of Staff with regard to some humanitarian works in which the troops will be engaged to the benefit of the local community, which has been a tradition of the Irish force there.

In response to the query regarding Ireland's continuing engagement, as Minister for Defence I am committed to Ireland's continued engagement in missions of this nature. They are crucial to showing we have an ongoing commitment to peacekeeping and that the Defence Forces have a valuable level of experience they can contribute to such missions. This is one of the crucial reasons for one of my objectives, which is to try to maintain numbers at approximately 9,500 personnel, thereby retaining the capability and operational capacity to engage in this way on the international stage.

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