Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

13. To ask the Minister for Defence the position regarding Ireland’s participation in the UNDOF mission in the Golan Heights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43289/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

At the request of the United Nations, a contingent of the Permanent Defence Force has been deployed to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) on the Golan Heights in Syria since September 2013. The current Defence Forces contingent, the 46th Irish Infantry Group UNDOF, comprises 130 troops and consists of a Force Reserve Company and support elements. Their role includes the provision of a Quick Reaction Force which is on standby to assist with on-going operations within the UNDOF Area of Responsibility. Eight (8) other Defence Forces personnel are also deployed in UNDOF Headquarters, Camp Ziouani, including the Deputy Force Commander Brigadier General Anthony Hanlon.

Fighting between Syrian Arab Armed Forces and Anti Government Armed Elements has recently escalated in the UNDOF area of responsibility. In August 2014 and in response to the hostilities, the Irish contingent, in its capacity as the Force Reserve Company, dealt with several incidents as requested by the Force Commander UNDOF, including assisting with the safe extraction of members of the Philippine Battalion.

Given events on the ground, I called for the UN to undertake a review of the mission, particularly the capacity of the mission to fulfil its mandate in light of the civil war in Syria. Since then there has been a fundamental realignment of the UNDOF mission with a view to minimising unacceptable risks to peacekeepers, while continuing to implement the mission’s mandate. The Headquarters of the UNDOF mission, including the Irish contingent, has now been relocated from Camp Faouar on the Syrian side of the area of separation to Camp Ziouani on the Israeli side of the area of separation. The UN continues to review the mission and will provide regular updates on the mission to the Security Council in this regard.