Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 41: To ask the Minister for Defence when the planned reconnaissance mission will be sent to Chad; when a final decision will be made on whether to send an Irish contingent to the region; the terms under which it is expected to operate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21996/07]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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On 25 September, 2007, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1778 establishing a multi-dimensional UN mission in Chad and Central African Republic that will help strengthen security in the region. Resolution 1778 (2007) establishes the mission, to be known as MINURCAT, for a period of one year. MINURCAT will consist of three components:

a UN multidimensional presence, composed of UN police, rule of law, human rights and other civilian officers;

a special Chadian police/gendarmes unit (some 850) dedicated exclusively to maintaining law and order in refugee camps, sites with concentrations of IDPs and key towns, and assisting in securing humanitarian activities in eastern Chad;

an EU military deployment (under Chapter VII).

The EU element of the operation will have a mandate to contribute to the protection of civilians in danger, particularly refugees and displaced persons; to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and the free movement of humanitarian personnel by helping to improve security in the area of operation; and to contribute to protecting UN personnel, facilities, installations and equipment and to ensuring the security and freedom of movement of its staff and UN and associated personnel.

The UN element of this operation is targeted primarily at supporting the civil administration in Chad and the Central African Republic to protect refugees and camps with the support of a UN police element and liaison officers.

The EU will launch a fact-finding mission in the next week or so. It is proposed that the Defence Forces will send five officers to participate in this fact-finding mission so as to provide me with the best information possible regarding the situation on the ground so as to inform a future decision by government on our participation. The issue of risk assessment and force protection is vitally important and this will have to be factored into the equation. In addition, given the location of the mission area, the operational environment, together with considerations regarding resupply, sustainability and reinforcement will also require rigorous assessment.

The decision to launch an ESDP mission is a matter for the Council of the European Union and it is expected that it will take this decision in the next week.

In the event that the Defence Forces can make a meaningful contribution to the mission and if it meets all the other criteria including the risk assessment, force protection test and environmental assessment, I would intend to bring forward detailed proposals to Government in the next few weeks. Subject to Government approval, I will then seek the approval of Dáil Éireann for the despatch of the contingent in accordance with the provisions of the Defence Acts. The scale of our potential contribution to the EU mission is in the order of 300 to 350 personnel.