Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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30. To ask the Minister for Defence his plans to send Irish troops to Sierra Leone in the foreseeable future. [43267/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Three members of the Permanent Defence Force are to deploy to the Embassy of Ireland, Freetown, Sierra Leone to assist in Ireland’s response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa. The three personnel, all of whom have considerable collective experience in West Africa, will be deployed to the Embassy under the Emergency Civilian Assistance Team initiative, established by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to respond to international crises.

As one of a small number of countries with an embassy in Freetown, Ireland has been very active in working with our local and international partners to fight the Ebola epidemic and the Defence Forces deployment will bring key technical skills which will enhance the embassy’s ability to respond.

The role of the Defence Forces personnel deployed will include reviewing and enhancing the embassy's contingency plans for security-related events and providing advice and support in logistics and emergency planning.

Consideration is also being given to the possible deployment of a small number of Defence Forces personnel to be embedded as part of a UK Armed Forces Treatment Unit in Kerrytown, Sierra Leone. Discussions are ongoing in this regard between the Irish and UK authorities.