Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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343. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of the work of the 11 special Irish peace monitors on secondment to the OSCE in eastern Ukraine; if the monitors receive no pay or allowances from his Department for their work; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Ireland is the only western European country that does not provide its monitors with such allowances or pay; if he will consider extending such payments to the monitors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31929/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, which was established by decision of the Permanent Council of the OSCE on 21 March 2014, is composed of international staff from OSCE participating States and unarmed, civilian monitors, supported in their work by local staff from Ukraine. As of 12 October 2016, there were 693 international monitors in Ukraine, of whom 10 are Irish.

Members of the Special Monitoring Mission are not employees of my Department. They work as International Seconded Mission Members within the OSCE and receive a Board and Lodging Allowance, paid by the OSCE, for the duration of the assignment. Participating states have discretion to provide additional remuneration to Mission Members. I understand that the approach taken to remuneration by other participating States in the OSCE varies significantly.

The Special Monitoring Mission performs vital work in extremely difficult circumstances. Its work includes gathering information and reporting on the security situation in eastern Ukraine, reporting on the humanitarian situation there, facilitating delivery of humanitarian aid of other organizations and helping to establish dialogue and local ceasefires. This work is crucial to the ongoing efforts to find a peaceful settlement for the conflict in Ukraine and for full implementation of the Minsk Agreements.

I am conscious of the security challenges the SMM monitors face in the performance of their duties, particularly those based in Eastern Ukraine, which includes 9 Irish monitors. It is important that the security risks be minimised to enable their invaluable work to continue. To this end, Ireland has engaged with the OSCE regarding the security of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. While currently there is no funding for payments in this case, the Department is keeping the issue under review.