Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

Ireland has offered, through the United Nations standby arrangements system, UNSAS, to provide up to 850 military personnel for overseas service at any one time. This figure equates to approximately 10% of Ireland's standing Army, excluding reserves, and demonstrates Ireland's commitment to the cause of international peace. This is the maximum sustainable commitment that Ireland can make to overseas peacekeeping operations.

Ireland is contributing 524 Defence Forces personnel to 11 different missions throughout the world. The main overseas missions in which Defence Forces personnel are deployed are the UNIFIL mission, as mentioned, with 454 personnel, the NATO-led international security presence, KFOR, in Kosovo with 12 personnel, the EU training mission, EUTM, in Somalia with seven personnel, the EU-led operation ALTHEA in Bosnia and Herzegovina with seven personnel, and the NATO-led international security assistance force, ISAF, in Afghanistan with seven personnel. As I mentioned earlier, personnel of the 104th Infantry Battalion completed their deployment to UNIFIL on 27 June 2011. The Defence Forces deployment to UNIFIL will be for one year initially, subject to renewal of the mandate and a satisfactory review of the mission. Ireland's participation in the mission is expected to continue for three to four years.

Ireland receives requests from time to time for participation in various missions and these are considered case by case. When considering any particular request, the existence of realistic objectives and a clear mandate which has the potential to contribute to a political solution, consideration of how the mission relates to the priorities of Irish foreign policy, and the degree of risk involved are among the factors considered. Apart from the recent deployment of a battalion to UNIFIL and the appointment of Colonel Michael Beary last month to the post of mission commander in Somalia, no other deployments are planned or envisaged at this time.

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