Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As of 4 September, Ireland was contributing 651 personnel to UN missions and 27 to a range of international organisations and national representations. This compares with 761 in 2009 but is greater than the 426 personnel deployed overseas five years ago. Are there any other deployments in the pipeline? Opportunities to serve on UN missions, as the Minister of State knows, are popular with members of the Defence Forces because of the experience they offer and for financial reasons. We all know that, now more than ever, incentives are important in order to retain personnel in the Defence Forces. It is also important to note the Naval Service's role in the Mediterranean and the rescuing of refugees, which is important in a political context. Has the Department conducted any discussions at an EU level in order that the Naval Service may have a role in this regard in the future? Is there an examination of this for 2020? It helped to retain personnel when Operation Sofia ended, which had a negative effect in the context of retention.

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