Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

During each EU Presidency both formal and informal meetings of Defence Ministers are held. Last November my colleague the Minister for Defence attended the formal meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council with Defence Ministers. The operation commanders of the three current EU-led missions were also in attendance. Discussions were focused on these current operations and future proposed developments.

Ireland contributes Defence Forces personnel to two of the three current EU missions. Ireland contributes seven personnel to the Operation ALTHEA mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ireland contributes seven personnel including the mission commander, Colonel Michael Beary, to EUTM Somalia, the EU's mission to train Somali security forces in Uganda. The Government has this week approved the participation of a further three personnel to this mission.

The other EU mission, Operation EUNAVFOR ATALANTA, is the EU's first maritime operation which contributes to improving maritime security off the coast of Somalia and in the Indian Ocean. Ireland does not currently contribute personnel to this operation. Ireland has received an invitation from the operational commander of Operation EUNAVFOR ATALANTA to contribute an autonomous vessel protection detachment, AVPD, to the operation. The Department is considering whether it will be in a position to contribute an AVPD to this operation.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

The EU is also planning a regional maritime capacity building mission to enhance the capacity of Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa region to fight piracy. The proposed mission will be complementary to and have close co-ordination with Operation EUNAVFOR ATALANTA and EUTM Somalia and international actors. This will be a civilian mission augmented with military expertise.

Ireland will participate in the Austro-German Battlegroup which will be on standby for the second six months of 2012. The other members of the Austro-German Battlegroup are Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, FYROM. Training and planning is currently ongoing in preparation for a battlegroup deployment if such a decision is taken by the council.

Regarding UN missions, Ireland currently contributes 453 personnel to the UNIFIL mission. Other personnel are serving as monitors and observers with several United Nations missions. Discussions are currently ongoing with Finland regarding the planned deployment of a contingent of some 170 personnel of the armed forces of Finland to UNIFIL and the formation of a joint Irish-Finnish battalion from May 2012. The number of Irish Defence Forces personnel deployed with UNIFIL is scheduled to decrease to 332 personnel as a result of the Finnish deployment.

The Department of Defence constantly reviews the deployment of Defence Forces personnel overseas. However, following the deployment to UNIFIL, it is not anticipated that there will be any major deployments of troops to further missions in the foreseeable future.

Within the EU itself, a number of committees, including the Political and Security Committee and the EU Military Committee, keep the issues of troop deployments, including rapid response, under constant review in consultation with all EU member states.

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