Vol. 411 No. 8
36 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Defence the number of occasions on which Irish troops or positions have come under fire in Lebanon since the beginning of this year; if he will give a breakdown in percentage terms of those believed to be responsible for the attacks; if he, or the Defence Forces, have made any representations to those involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
64 Mrs. Taylor-Quinn asked the Minister for Defence if he has registered strong protest to the Israeli Defence Minister about a series of attacks on Irish UN peacekeeping troops in South Lebanon.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 36 and 64 together.
Since 1 January 1991 there have been 182 firings at or close to Irish positions in UNIFIL, of which 99 per cent have been attributed to the de facto forces. These firings while hazardous for Irish personnel did not constitute attacks in the strict military sense. Ninety-seven of the firings occurred in August 1991 and these were the subject of a strong protest to the Israeli ambassador by the Department of Foreign Affairs on 29 August 1991.
All firings and other serious incidents involving either the de facto forces or the Israeli Defence Forces are protested through UNIFIL headquarters to the Israeli authorities.
