Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Question 243: To ask the Minister for Defence the plans in place for Irish involvement in UN Peace keeping in Syria [22388/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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On 24th April 2012, the Government approved the deployment of up to six members of the Permanent Defence Force as unarmed military observers to United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS), in response to a request from the United Nations. The selection of Defence Forces personnel is currently in train and, subject to the security situation in Syria, it is expected that Irish observers will be deployed to the mission over the next few weeks. The new Supervision Mission will monitor a cessation of armed violence "in all its forms by all parties" in Syria. The mission will also monitor the full implementation of the six-point plan recently proposed by Joint Special Envoy for the United Nations and the League of Arab States, Mr. Kofi Annan to bring an end to the crisis in Syria. A UN advance team is already in Syria, and the Government also agreed that Defence Forces personnel could be made available to the UN advance team should that be required.