Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 1283: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of personnel currently serving overseas; the extent to which further deployments are likely to take place in the near future, other than those ongoing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2002/05]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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Currently, a total of 772 Defence Forces personnel are serving overseas, full details of which are listed in the following table. Ireland has offered, through the UN Standby Arrangements System (UNSAS), to provide up to 850 military personnel, configured as a light infantry mounted battalion, for overseas service at any one time. This figure equates to 10% of Ireland's standing Army 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. It should be appreciated that at any one time one group of personnel will have just returned from service, one will be on overseas duty and a further group will be in training. There are no plans at this time to increase the level of our commitment to UNSAS.

Ireland receives requests from time to time in relation to participation in various missions and these are considered on a case-by-case basis. However, we are currently fairly close to the limit of our sustainable commitments. It is appropriate that we keep some level of resources in reserve, should we need to reinforce existing missions or to take on additional missions at short notice. Apart from the secondment of four officers of the Permanent Defence Force on a volunteer basis to the United Nations Joint Logistics Centre in Sri Lanka following on the recent tsunami disaster, no other deployments are planned or envisaged at this time.