Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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747. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the date on which the surviving veterans of the siege of Jadotville and the family members of deceased veterans will be presented with their medals; the details of the design; and the status of the medals. [42466/17]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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750. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the date on which the surviving veterans of the siege of Jadotville and the family members of deceased veterans will be presented with their medals; and the design and status of the medals. [42212/17]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 747 and 750 together.

The former Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD, and I decided on the 13^thJune last to award a medal to the men of “A” Company, 35^thInfantry Battalion and, in the case of those members who are deceased, to their next of kin, to give full and due recognition in honour of the courageous actions of the men during the siege at Jadotville in September 1961. This fully recognises their bravery and courage during the unique circumstances of the Siege of Jadotville.  This was an initiative I had been working on for some time and I was privileged to be able to take the decision to award a medal to the men of “A” Company.

Officials in my Department have been progressing the regulatory issues around the awarding of a specially commissioned medal, An Bonn Jadotville (The Jadotville Medal). I have recently approved the design of the medal and production of the medals is ongoing. As I recently announced, the presentation ceremony will take place on Saturday 2^ndDecember 2017 in Custume Barracks, Athlone. I also outlined the details of the medal design in a press release on 5^thOctober 2017.

The medal depicts a warrior of the ancient Fianna with sword and shield.  To the left is a reproduction of the Irish overseas flash.  Surrounding the central motif are the words “Cosaint Chalma” (Valiant Defence) and “Misneach” (Courage).  The reverse contains a unique unit identification representing “A” Company, 35 Cathlán Éireannach (Irish Battalion).  The word “Jadotville” is depicted on the clasp of the medal and the medal ribbon represents a combination of an Irish tricolour and the United Nations Operation in Congo (ONUC) mission medal.