Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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45. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the nature, scale, scope and subject matter of the discussions he has had with the UN Under-Secretary-General and head of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23324/17]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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On 26 April 2017, while representing Ireland at an informal meeting of Defence Ministers in Malta, I was delighted to have had the opportunity to meet with the UN Under Secretary General (UN/USG), Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix. While this was an introductory meeting, a comprehensive range of issues in relation to peacekeeping operations were discussed. I also took the opportunity to brief him on my recent visit to Ireland’s troops serving on UN peacekeeping operations in Lebanon and in the Golan Heights.

Under Secretary General Lacroix welcomed Irish/Finnish cooperation in UNIFIL and expressed his appreciation for Ireland’s ongoing support to the mission. Our discussion addressed the recently published UN Strategic Review of UNIFIL which determined that UNIFIL is well configured to implement its mandated tasks and continues to be a credible, flexible and mobile force. That Review also states that the overall strategic political guidance is to maintain UNIFIL at its current strength, composition and configuration and it was clear from our discussion that the UN Under Secretary General supports this view.

With regard to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) mission, we were in agreement that the presence of the UNDOF mission remains an important element in ensuring the continuing ceasefire between Israel and Syria and in the wider Middle East Region. The valuable contribution that the Defence Forces are making to this mission was acknowledged. The UN Under Secretary took note of the security concerns I outlined regarding the return of troops to the Area of Separation.

We spoke about the recent debate on Peacekeeping Operations in the UN Security Council. Under Secretary General Lacroix indicated that while challenges were identified in terms of funding, the added value of Peacekeeping Operations was acknowledged. He is confident, however, that the UN can achieve efficiencies, while maintaining the effectiveness of UN operations.

In relation to Mali, Under Secretary General Lacroix agreed with my assessment that the challenges there are wide ranging and require a wider response than can be delivered by peacekeeping operations alone.

It was a very worthwhile meeting and I look forward to having further discussions with the UN Under Secretary General in the future.