James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 31: To ask the Minister for Defence the areas of the defence budget to which the financial savings from the withdrawal from the UN mission in Chad will be allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23453/10]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I have dealt comprehensively with the decision by the Government on 30 March 2010 to withdraw the Irish contingent from the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT) and the reasons for that decision. I can assure the House that it was not a decision the Government wanted to have to make and I have expressed my regret at how events unfolded in relation to the MINURCAT mission.

The priority for the Department of Defence now is to achieve an orderly withdrawal from Chad. The Irish contingent deployed with MINURCAT was withdrawn in May 2010 and the recovery of equipment and assets is ongoing. Some personnel remain on site to oversee this process.

The 2010 Defence Estimate contained the provision to sustain the Irish contingent on this mission. It also provided for receipts from the UN in the form of Appropriations-in-Aid. Savings will arise over the remainder of the year in respect of overseas allowances and logistics. However, some budgeted receipts from the UN will not now be received. The withdrawal from Chad will incur expenses not provided for in the 2010 Defence Estimate. Furthermore, negotiations will be undertaken with the UN regarding reimbursement in respect of aspects of the cost of the withdrawal. It is not possible at this stage, therefore, to establish the net impact of the withdrawal on the 2010 Defence Estimate.

If this process results in a net saving for the Defence Vote in 2010 I will take a view on its treatment when the nature of such a saving is known.