Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I reiterate that we are in the country on a United Nations mission. The personnel will not be involved in combat operations. The mission will consist of 250 instructors and approximately 200 additional military personnel to provide support and security. The role of personnel deployed to the mission will be to provide military training to the armed forces, as well as training and advice on command and control logistics, human resources, international humanitarian law, and the protection of civilians and human rights.

The other important impact of the EU involvement, and Ireland's involvement, is significant progress on the political aspects of the crisis. The EU's collective focus has been on ensuring that the Malian leaders adopt a political transition roadmap, and that has been successfully delivered. This roadmap sets out a time line towards free and fair elections in July. It sets an immediate path for the return to full civilian government, without the involvement of the military, and gives a commitment to reform of the armed forces. The Malian Government is also committed to the important objective of a national and inclusive dialogue to ensure that the legitimate interests and concerns of minorities such as those Deputy Ó Fearghaíl mentioned, notably, the Tuareg communities in the north, are addressed.

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