Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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9. To ask the Minister for Defence if any members of the Defence Forces will take part in the investigation by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon into the recent death of a Spanish peacekeeper serving on the mission; and if the Defence Forces taking part in United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon,UNIFIL, will now review their security and their procedures mandate, following the recent death of this Spanish peacekeeper. [6877/15]

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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A Spanish peacekeeper with the UNIFIL mission in the Lebanon, Francisco Javier Soria Toledo, was killed recently. It is believed that he was killed by Israeli artillery fire and UNIFIL is currently carrying out an investigation. Are Irish personnel taking part in the investigation?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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On 28 January 2015, a member of the Spanish armed forces who was serving in Sector East with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon was killed near Ghajar on the border with Israel. I understand that the precise cause of the peacekeeper’s death remains undetermined. UNIFIL has launched an investigation to determine the facts and circumstances of the incident. One Irish officer in UNIFIL headquarters is a member of the United Nations investigation team that is examining the incident.

Following news of the fatality, I extended my condolences to the Spanish Government, the Spanish armed forces and the family of the UN peacekeeper on his tragic loss of life. Irish personnel deployed with UNIFIL serve in Sector West and were not involved in the incident, although I understand they were only 20 km away. I have been assured that all necessary force protection measures are being implemented by the Defence Forces contingent in the UNIFIL and United Nation Disengagement Observer Force, UNDOF, missions in accordance with standard operating procedures. While I am fully aware that peacekeeping operations are not without risk, the safety of our troops is our priority. The Defence Forces continue to actively monitor developments in the region.

This was an incident in which rockets were fired into Israel from that part of southern Lebanon and there was a response from the Israeli side. Unfortunately, it appears that the Spanish peacekeeper was tragically killed as a result of that. However, we should wait to establish the full facts, which we will get once the investigation has been completed.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Does the Minister have any information on when the report is expected to be published? Is information on the exact locations of UNIFIL troops passed on to the Israeli army? The Israelis usually conduct their own investigations of these incidents.

Is the Minister aware of any follow-up or information in that regard? I noted earlier that the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade had visited the region, where I understand he met the UNIFIL force commander, Major General Luciano Portolano, and members of the joint Finnish-Irish battalion stationed there. He was also briefed on the security situation and the impact of the Syrian conflict. Will the Minister meet formally the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to discuss what is happening on the ground?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There are always conversations ongoing between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Defence on peacekeeping missions and the conditions under which we operate. I visited our troops with UNIFIL and UNDOF before Christmas and it was a fascinating experience. In the build-up to it, I am glad that we had seen a sustained and lengthy peaceful period in southern Lebanon, given its history. It is unfortunate that in recent months we have seen breaches of that calm. I cannot speak for the Israeli defence forces which will conduct their own internal investigation, but the Deputy should not forget that two Israeli soldiers were killed and five were injured in the rocket fire. That is not to justify anything; I am just giving the Deputy the facts. I expect the IDF to be very clear on the locations of UN sites which are visible from a distance, apart from anything else, as most of them are on hillsides. I do not know the exact circumstances surrounding how a Spanish soldier lost his life, but we will get the full details when the report is concluded. Obviously, we will be interested in it, as we have 199 soldiers with UNIFIL, our largest overseas contingent.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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When the report is concluded, there should be an opportunity for the Dáil or the committee dealing with defence matters to look at and discuss it with the Minister. Circumstances in the region have changed for a number of reasons, one of which has been European Union member states taking sides in the conflict within Syria and supplying weaponry. That was a game changer. I am interested to hear from the Minister if there will be a discussion following this incident and if any report will be made available to the House.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The advice I have received is that there has not been a dramatic change of circumstances in southern Lebanon. There was a very significant and serious exchange between Hezbollah and the Israeli defence forces, but there has been no other incident since. My interest is in ensuing Irish troops are safe and that the UNIFIL mission generally is as safe as it can be and performs its role of maintaining relative stability and peace on the Israeli-Lebanese border. It has been very effective in doing this in the last couple of years. This was a significant breach which had tragic consequences for a Spanish soldier. We extend our condolences to his family and the Spanish armed forces. We should not necessarily infer from this, however, that there has been a dramatic change in southern Lebanon. I agree with the Deputy that what is happening in Syria spills over, has consequences and is incredibly complicated in terms of how we can or should respond from a peacekeeping point of view. We can only continue to observe developments and respond as best we can. That is exactly what we are doing.