Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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To ask the Minister for Defence the cost of Irish Army participation in the war in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44915/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Defence Forces are primarily deployed on overseas missions in support of international peace and security under UN mandates. On 20 December 2001, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1386 under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, authorising the establishment of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, and there are fourteen UN Security Council Resolutions relating to ISAF, most recently UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2069 (2012), adopted on 9 October 2012. This latest UN Security Council Resolution extended ISAF’s mandate for a further year until October 2013. Ireland has participated in the NATO–led UN mandated mission since 5 July 2002, following the Government Decision of 2 July 2002, authorising the provision of seven (7) members of the Permanent Defence Force for service with the force. The annual additional cost to the Defence Vote arising from participation by the Defence Forces in ISAF is approximately €320,000.

The continued participation by seven (7) members of the Permanent Defence Force in ISAF is reviewed annually by the Government. The most recent decision by the Government was on 26 June 2012, when it agreed to continue to provide seven members of the Permanent Defence Force for service with ISAF for a further period from July 2012, subject to ongoing review by the Minister for Defence. Planning for the drawdown of ISAF generally is currently ongoing and the withdrawal of the Defence Forces personnel from the mission will be coordinated within the context of the overall ISAF drawdown plan.