Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Question 5: To ask the Minister for Defence the progress made on the current mission in the Lebanon since the arrival of troops there; the number of Irish troops currently on location there; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25055/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Ireland has participated in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, since its establishment in 1978. UNIFIL's mandate has been extended by the UN Security Council on an annual basis. On 30 August the Security Council extended the current mandate of UNIFIL until 31 August 2012. UNIFIL continues to play a critical role in helping to promote peace and stability in southern Lebanon. Following a request from the United Nations, Dáil Éireann approved the deployment of a contingent of Permanent Defence Force personnel to UNIFIL on 21 April.

An advance party of 47 personnel of the 104th Infantry Battalion, together with a work party of 42 personnel, deployed to southern Lebanon on 30 May. The work party has since been repatriated. The deployment of the main body of the 104th Infantry Battalion was completed on 27 June. Currently, a total of 454 Irish personnel are serving with UNIFIL, including nine personnel at the force headquarters in Naqoura.

The Irish battalion is based in sector west of UNIFIL's area of operations in an area designated by the force commander, centred on the major towns of Tibnin and Bint Jubyal and the Blue Line which separates Lebanon and Israel. On arrival in Lebanon, the Irish battalion took over UN Post 6-5, renamed Camp Shamrock in Tibnin, followed by two forward UN posts, namely, UN Posts 6-50 and 6-52, and declared full operational capability on 27 July . The battalion now has responsibility for an area of operations measuring approx 140 sq km and which incorporates 11.3 kms of the Blue Line.

The Defence Forces have advised that the security situation in the Irish battalion area of operations is assessed as "calm" and the situation in the UNIFIL area of operations remains calm but unpredictable. The overall threat, from a UNIFIL perspective, for UNIFIL military personnel is assessed as "medium". There is no direct threat to UNIFIL personnel in the area of operations. However, the threat from improvised explosive devices, IEDs, is assessed as "high" along the coastal route to Beirut, in particular following attacks on Italian and French UNIFIL convoys on 27 May and 26 July, respectively, in the vicinity of Sidon.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

The Defence Forces battalion has been tasked primarily with patrolling, reconnaissance and ground-holding, while operating in close co-ordination and co-operation with the Lebanese armed forces in sector west. It is expected that the Finnish contingent will deploy with the Irish battalion by mid-2012. The Irish contingent will reduce once the Finnish forces deploy. Personnel of the 104th Infantry Battalion are scheduled to rotate in November.

The Defence Forces are playing a real and substantive role in helping to stabilise southern Lebanon and making a vital and important contribution to the success of the UNIFIL mission, as they have done throughout the world on so many occasions in the past.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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People may be genuinely surprised to realise there are 454 personnel serving in Lebanon. We should continue to publicise this fact and praise the work they have done there. I noticed in the local media during the summer that locally based soldiers were writing articles about their work in Lebanon and it struck me that we should increase awareness of this. The 454 personnel all came from certain schools. Perhaps the Defence Forces might engage in some form of communications exercise with local schools, without giving too much away, to build knowledge of the work done by the Defence Forces in Lebanon. We have had a relationship with Lebanon since the 1970s but not enough work has been done during that time to build on the relationship.

On another issue, if our operations in Lebanon are being reviewed as part of the CS4 reorganisation, to which the Minister referred, will we still be in a position to maintain this level of deployment in Lebanon next year?

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Deputy. We should be proud of what our forces do in Lebanon, as well as of the small contingents of members of the Defence Forces located in other parts of the world that are engaged in peacekeeping and peace support activities. It would be a good idea that there would be greater knowledge within the wider community of what is happening in Lebanon. The welcome visit by President McAleese will bring a focus to bear in this regard. Unfortunately, the reality in this media age is that good works of this nature being done often only get a media focus when an event of some kind takes place. Very often it is an event that gives rise to casualties or concerns as opposed to the fact we have troops on the ground and the area is calm and they are substantially contributing to maintaining that calm. I was engaged in discussions with the Chief of Staff with regard to some humanitarian works in which the troops will be engaged to the benefit of the local community, which has been a tradition of the Irish force there.

In response to the query regarding Ireland's continuing engagement, as Minister for Defence I am committed to Ireland's continued engagement in missions of this nature. They are crucial to showing we have an ongoing commitment to peacekeeping and that the Defence Forces have a valuable level of experience they can contribute to such missions. This is one of the crucial reasons for one of my objectives, which is to try to maintain numbers at approximately 9,500 personnel, thereby retaining the capability and operational capacity to engage in this way on the international stage.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 6: To ask the Minister for Defence the position regarding requests for deployment of the Defence Forces, including expert personnel, overseas; his plans in relation to future Defence Forces overseas missions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25088/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Ireland has offered, through the United Nations standby arrangements system, UNSAS, to provide up to 850 military personnel for overseas service at any one time. This figure equates to approximately 10% of Ireland's standing Army, excluding reserves, and demonstrates Ireland's commitment to the cause of international peace. This is the maximum sustainable commitment that Ireland can make to overseas peacekeeping operations.

Ireland is contributing 524 Defence Forces personnel to 11 different missions throughout the world. The main overseas missions in which Defence Forces personnel are deployed are the UNIFIL mission, as mentioned, with 454 personnel, the NATO-led international security presence, KFOR, in Kosovo with 12 personnel, the EU training mission, EUTM, in Somalia with seven personnel, the EU-led operation ALTHEA in Bosnia and Herzegovina with seven personnel, and the NATO-led international security assistance force, ISAF, in Afghanistan with seven personnel. As I mentioned earlier, personnel of the 104th Infantry Battalion completed their deployment to UNIFIL on 27 June 2011. The Defence Forces deployment to UNIFIL will be for one year initially, subject to renewal of the mandate and a satisfactory review of the mission. Ireland's participation in the mission is expected to continue for three to four years.

Ireland receives requests from time to time for participation in various missions and these are considered case by case. 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. Apart from the recent deployment of a battalion to UNIFIL and the appointment of Colonel Michael Beary last month to the post of mission commander in Somalia, no other deployments are planned or envisaged at this time.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for his response. I note from the figures supplied that of the 850 military personnel, only 524 have been deployed overseas. Consequently, it is fair to state the capability and capacity still exists. I ask the Minister to reaffirm his support for the triple lock mechanism in respect of overseas missions.

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy asks me that question whenever Question Time is on defence matters.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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It is not that I do not trust the Minister but is just-----

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The position has not changed from the first time I answered the question on the first occasion on which I took defence questions.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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I will ask the question again the next time.