Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Question 90: To ask the Minister for Defence if Irish troops will be working closely with their EU battle group partners before the end of March 2007, as indicated by the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8930/07]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 98: To ask the Minister for Defence the position with regard to the development of European Union battle groups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8682/07]

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 101: To ask the Minister for Defence when the memorandum of understanding for Irish participation in the EU battlegroups will be agreed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8927/07]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 103: To ask the Minister for Defence the location where the Irish contingent taking part in EU battle groups will be based when on call; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8693/07]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 113: To ask the Minister for Defence the most recent discussions he has had with his EU colleagues, NATO or others in regard to the formation of EU battlegroups or emergency response forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8889/07]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 138: To ask the Minister for Defence the estimated response time of the battle group of which Ireland will be a member; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8694/07]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 300: To ask the Minister for Defence the position in regard to Ireland's participation in EU or NATO led or inspired rapid response forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9148/07]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 306: To ask the Minister for Defence if Naval personnel have participated in exercises or training in conjunction with EU, NATO or other forces in anticipation of involvement in EU led engagement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9154/07]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 307: To ask the Minister for Defence if Air Corps personnel have participated in exercises or training in conjunction with EU, NATO or other forces in anticipation of participation in EU led engagement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9155/07]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 90, 98, 101, 103, 113, 138, 300, 306 and 307 together.

Following detailed discussions on Ireland's participation in the Nordic Battlegroup, Sweden, on behalf of the Nordic Battlegroup, advised that it will welcome a contribution from Ireland, subject to Ireland's agreement to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Nordic Battlegroup. The MoU is an agreement between the participants comprising the Nordic Battlegroup, namely Sweden, Norway, Finland and Estonia, which sets out principles in relation to the operation, deployment and management of the Nordic Battlegroup. The Attorney General has advised that Ireland can sign the MoU subject to Dáil approval. The letter of Accession to the MoU is currently being finalised and I plan to bring the MoU before the Dáil shortly.

The Nordic Battlegroup will be on standby from January 2008. The Force Commander and the headquarters staff for the Nordic Battlegroup will be based in Sweden. The Operational Force Commander and his staff will be based at UK facilities in Northwood for the duration of the stand-by period. As part of the initial familiarisation and training phase for the Nordic battlegroup, a member of the Defence Forces has been deployed to the Force Headquarters in Sweden since the end of February, working closely with personnel from other Battlegroup participants. Current plans envisage further Defence Force personnel deploying to the Force Headquarters and the Operational Headquarters later this year. However, the timeline for these deployments has not yet been finalised.

Our planned contribution to the Nordic Battlegroup will amount to some 80 to 100 personnel involving an Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (E.O.D./I.E.D.D.) team with its own security detail, together with staff posts at the Operational and Force headquarters. E.O.D. relates to normal type munitions whereas I.E.D.D. generally refers to devices devised by terrorist groups, such as car bombs etc. This level of operational commitment will only arise should the Battlegroup be called on to undertake an operation. The number of personnel involved operationally during the standby period, where the Battlegroup has not been mobilised to undertake an operation, will be of the order of 10 personnel. The remaining on-call personnel for the contingent will be based in Ireland during the Standby period. Any contribution to a Battlegroup will be met within the context of the overall ceiling of 850 personnel serving overseas at any one time set in the White Paper on Defence and will have no adverse impact on our existing peace support operations.

According to the EU Battlegroup concept, Battlegroups will be made up of some 1,500 personnel, deployable at 5 to 10 days notice and sustainable for 30 days and up to 120 days, either as a stand-alone force or as part of a larger operation enabling follow-on phases. The Nordic Battlegroup must be capable of responding within this designated timeframe and this is one of the issues being dealt with in the context of Battlegroup planning.

There are no plans for the involvement of the Naval Service or the Air Corps on overseas operations, including as part of the EU Battlegroups. However, individual members of the Naval Service or Air Corps may be deployed on overseas peace support operations, as they have been in the past. Any personnel deployed in this context receive the same training as their Army colleagues.

Most Battlegroup training will take place in the contributing member States — i.e. Irish troops will mainly be trained in Ireland. That said, some level of joint training with other Battlegroup elements will be required. It is planned that joint training of the Nordic Battlegroup elements, including field manoeuvres, will take place in Sweden in September/October 2007 for a period of approximately 3 to 4 weeks. This is the only joint field training envisaged.

Ireland does not participate in or contribute to the NATO Response Force as the Rapid Response Element within NATO is termed. Moreover, there are no plans or proposals, nor any requirement for field training with NATO troops or troops from other EU countries in the context of our participation in the Nordic Battlegroup or in any other context.