Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have been invited to speak at the international peace-keeping summit which will be held in New York on 26 September, next week. It will have a focus on existing peace-keeping missions but it will also focus on attempts to build capacity for peace-keeping and conflict resolution on the Continent of Africa. This will also provide a very interesting opportunity for Ireland. However, the big decisions may well be taken today. The UN Security Council met yesterday and it will meet again today. Its members are trying to agree the wording of a statement on UNDOF which I think would give us reassurance with regard to structural change and potential equipment change available to that mission in the future, in order to remove the risk to which our troops may be exposed. I hope the UN Security Council will be able to agree an acceptable wording which it could publish today.

On the question about the timing for sending the replacement force, we delayed the rotation by two weeks because our troops on the ground who have been there for the past six months are implementing the new structures to ensure that when replacement troops arrive they will have the benefit of a new operational structure.

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