Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 22: To ask the Minister for Defence if he will report on the recent deployment of Irish military personnel to Syria as unarmed observers in a new UN mission; the number of personnel being deployed; the length of the deployment and the nature of the overall UN mission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24403/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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On 21 April 2012, unanimously adopting resolution 2043 (2012), the United Nations Security Council authorized the establishment, for an initial period of 90 days, of a supervision mission, known as the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS). The purpose of the mission is to monitor a cessation of armed violence "in all its forms by all parties" in Syria. The new mission is also tasked with monitoring the full implementation of the six-point plan proposed by Joint Special Envoy for the United Nations and the League of Arab States, Mr. Kofi Annan. On 24th April 2012, the Government approved the deployment of up to six members of the Permanent Defence Force as unarmed military observers to UNSMIS, in response to a request from the United Nations. Six Defence Forces personnel were deployed to the mission area on 11 May 2012. The role of the Irish personnel is to observe and report on the security situation, and any transgressions of the ceasefire agreement and the implementation of the six-point plan.

The UN mission will comprise an initial deployment of up to 300 military observers, under the command of a Chief Military Observer, with an appropriate civilian component as required by the mission to fulfil its mandate. It is estimated that all 300 observers will be on the ground by the end of this month.