Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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45. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of Defence Forces personnel currently on overseas missions in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39805/16]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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As of 1 December 2016, Ireland is contributing 661 Defence Forces personnel to 11 different missions throughout the world, along with deployments to two standby Battlegroup Headquarters and a range of international organisations and National Representations

The main overseas missions in which Defence Forces personnel are currently deployed are the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) with 379 personnel, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in Syria with 136 personnel and the Naval Service humanitarian mission in the Mediterranean with 57 personnel.

The 379 personnel in UNIFIL serve alongside Finnish Armed Forces as part of a joint Battalion of which Ireland recently has taken over command. As a consequence of taking over command we deployed an additional Company of some 150 personnel as part of Ireland’s contribution to this mission.

Ireland has a long and continuous record of contributing to peacekeeping missions. Participation in these missions demonstrates Ireland’s strong support for the role of the United Nations in international peacekeeping. The current contribution of some 661 personnel to overseas missions reflects the Government’s continued commitment to our responsibilities in this area.

Full details of all personnel currently serving overseas are listed in the following tabular statement which will be circulated with the Official Report:

Members of the Permanent Defence Force Serving OverseasAs of 1 December 2016

1. UN MISSIONS

(i) UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) HQ30

UNIFIL109th Infantry Battalion341

UNIFILSector West HQ8

(ii) UNTSO (United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation) Israel & Syria13

(iii) MINURSO(United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara)3

(iv) MONUSCO(United Nations Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic4

Republic of the Congo)

(v) UNOCI(United Nations Mission in Ivory Coast)1

(vi) UNDOF (United Nations Disengagement Observer Force) HQ,6

Golan Heights, Syria

UNDOF54th Infantry Group130

TOTAL 536

UN MANDATED MISSIONS

(vii) EUFOR(EU-led Operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina)7

(viii) EUTM Mali(EU-Led Training Mission)18

(ix) KFOR(International Security Presence in Kosovo ) HQ12

TOTAL NUMBER OF PERSONNEL SERVING WITH UN MISSIONS573

2. OTHER DEPLOYMENTS

Naval Service Humanitarian Mission in Mediterranean L.É. Samuel Beckett57

3.ORGANISATION FOR SECURITY AND CO-OPERATION IN EUROPE (OSCE)

(i)OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina1

(ii)Staff Officer, High Level Planning Group, Vienna1

TOTAL NUMBER OF PERSONNEL SERVING WITH OSCE2

4. EU MILITARY STAFF

Brussels4

5. EU BATTLE GROUP

German-led Battle Group 2016 - HQ, STRASBOURG10

UK-led Battle Group 2016, UK5

6. MILITARY REPRESENTATIVES/ADVISERS/STAFF

(i)Military Adviser, Permanent Mission to UN, New York1

(ii)Military Adviser, Irish Delegation to OSCE, Vienna1

(iii)Military Representative to EU (Brussels)4

(iv)Liaison Officer of Ireland, NATO /PfP (Brussels)2

(v)EU OHQ Operation Althea, Mons, Belgium1

(vi)Irish Liaison Officer to SHAPE & Military Co-Op Division, Mons, Belgium1

TOTAL NUMBER OF DEFENCE FORCES PERSONNEL SERVING OVERSEAS661