Dáil debates
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
Other Questions
Overseas Missions
1:50 pm
Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source
I will try and be briefer than that.
Through the United Nations stand-by arrangements system Ireland has offered to provide up to 850 military personnel for overseas service at any one time, which demonstrates our commitment to the cause of international peace. This continues to be the maximum sustainable commitment that Ireland can make to overseas peacekeeping operations. Ireland is currently contributing 438 Defence Forces personnel to 11 different missions throughout the world. Full details of all personnel currently serving overseas are listed in the tabular statement provided.
Ireland's main deployment is in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, with 361 personnel, with smaller contributions in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Afghanistan and the European Union training mission, EUTM, in Somalia. Ireland is also currently participating in the Austro-German-led battlegroup, which is on stand-by until 31 December 2012.
The question referred to the future deployment of the Defence Forces overseas. Ireland receives requests from time to time relating to participation in various missions and these are considered on a case-by-case basis. 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. Ireland received an invitation from the operational commander of Operation Atalanta of the European Union Naval Force Somalia, EU NAVFOR, to contribute an autonomous vessel protection detachment, AVPD, to the operation. Currently, EU NAVFOR has received offers from five member states to provide such a detachment. As a result, the requirement for additional AVPDs does not arise in the immediate future and no vacancies will exist within the mission for such detachments until August 2013. Consideration may be given closer to the time with regard to whether Ireland will contribute after August 2013. We have also received an invitation from the UN requesting the deployment of a specialist training team on conventional munitions disposal, CMD, and mine and specialist search awareness to support the work of the United Nations mine action service in South Sudan. The request is currently under consideration. The Department of Defence constantly reviews the deployment of Defence Forces personnel overseas. At this time, it is not anticipated that there will be any major additional deployment of troops to further missions in 2013.
| 1 | UN missions | |
|---|---|---|
| (i) | UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) HQ UNIFIL 107thInfantry Battalion UNIFIL Sector West HQ | 16 337 8 |
| (ii) | UNTSO (United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation) – Israel, Syria and Lebanon | 11 |
| (iii) | MINURSO(United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara) | 3 |
| (iv) | MONUSCO (United Nations Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) | 3 |
| (v) | UNOCI (United Nations Mission in Ivory Coast) | 2 |
| TOTAL | 380 | |
| UN-mandated missions | ||
| (vi) | EUFOR (EU-led Operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina) | 7 |
| (vii) | EUTM Somalia (EU-led Training Mission in Uganda) | 10 |
| (viii) | KFOR (International Security Presence in Kosovo) – HQ | 12 |
| (ix) | ISAF (International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan) | 7 |
| TOTAL NUMBER OF PERSONNEL SERVING WITH UN MISSIONS | 416 | |
| 2 | Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) | |
| (i) | OSCE Mission to Bosnia & Herzegovina | 2 |
| (ii) | OSCE Mission in Belgrade - Serbia | 1 |
| (iii) | Head of High Level Planning Group, Vienna | 1 |
| (iv) | Staff Officer, High Level Planning Group, Vienna | 1 |
| TOTAL NUMBER OF PERSONNEL SERVING WITH OSCE | 5 | |
| 3 | EU Military Staff | |
| Brussels | 4 | |
| 4 | Austro-German Battlegroup | |
| Ulm, Germany | 1 | |
| 5 | Military Representatives/Advisers/Staff | |
| (i) | Military Adviser, Permanent Mission to UN, New York | 1 |
| (ii) | Military Adviser, Irish Delegation to OSCE, Vienna | 1 |
| (iii) | Staff Appointments, Irish Delegation to OSCE, Vienna | 2 |
| (iv) | Military Representative to EU (Brussels) | 5 |
| (v) | Liaison Office of Ireland, NATO/PfP (Brussels) | 2 |
| (vi) | EU OHQ Operation Althea, Mons, Belgium | 1 |
| TOTAL NUMBER OF DEFENCE FORCES PERSONNEL SERVING OVERSEAS | 438 |
No comments