Michael Smith
Question:8 Mr. M. Smith asked the Minister for Defence if he will make a statement regarding the safety of Irish troops serving with the United Nations in Lebanon. [8366/96]
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Troops in Lebanon.
Trevor Sargent
Question:14 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Defence the measures, if any, he is taking to minimise the delay in Irish troops returning from southern Lebanon; and the reassurances, if any, he will give to relatives and friends of soldiers detained on duty in the Middle East. [8249/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 14 together.
The rotation of the Irish battalion of UNIFIL had to be delayed by one week because of the security situation and the dangers it presented in relation to the movement of troops. That rotation has now commenced with the first rotation flight having taken place yesterday. The second and third rotation flights are due to take place on 30 April and 7 May 1996.
Every effort is being made to ensure that the troop rotation is carried out in a way that maximises the safety of the personnel concerned and ongoing assessments of the security situation, including the routes to and from the Irish area of operations to Beirut Airport, are continuing.
The families of soldiers who are due to rotate have been kept informed of the situation both by unit liaison personnel and ongoing media briefings given by the Defence Forces press officer and the Irish battalion military information officer in UNIFIL.
With regard to the question of the safety of Irish troops generally in their execution of the UNIFIL mandate, it is obviously not possible to give absolute guarantees as to their safety. I can, however, give an assurance that none of the troops will be exposed to any unnecessary risks and all possible precautions are being taken to ensure their safety. Road movement is restricted to the minimum and is carried out in armoured vehicles or in armoured escorted convoys. All such movement is notified in advance to the Israeli authorities through the UNIFIL liaison branch.
The Irish battalion has specially designed secure bunkers in each of its positions and moves to these bunkers in the event of impending attacks. Some personnel remain in secure observation posts during these attacks to ensure that the necessary observing and monitoring of activities in their area continues. Physical security in the form of equipment and engineer works at posts and checkpoints is continually being improved.
Our troops are issued with a modern range of weapons and equipment and operational procedures are geared to provide maximum safety for them consistent with the carrying out of their mission.
I am sure the House will join me in taking this opportunity to pay tribute to the Irish battalion in South Lebanon who are doing a marvellous job in very difficult circumstances. In addition to providing humanitarian assistance to the local population, our personnel have managed to carry out their normal peace-keeping duties of monitoring and reporting impartially all firings and other incidents in their area of operations.
I propose to visit the Lebanon this weekend to see at first hand the situation in the Irish area of operations and to express the appreciation of the Government of the manner in which the troops continue to carry out their peace-keeping duties.
I remind the House that in accordance with Standing Order 36 I must proceed in three minutes time to take questions addressed to the Minister for the Marine.
I join the Minister in congratulating our troops serving with UNIFIL in South Lebanon, and I welcome the fact that the Minister will visit them at the weekend. To what extent have the Government and the Minister protested to the Israeli authorities about the bombing and shelling? Have they received any guarantee that this will end? While I accept the Minister cannot give an absolute guarantee for the safety of any troops, nonetheless we need to hear from the Israelis concerning a quick end to this outrageous conduct.
I condemn any attacks on peace keepers. I sincerely hope the civilised world will respect those who serve on UN missions. Peace keeping must be kept apart from conflicts between any parties. The day respect for UN missions disappears is the day we will lose a very valuable asset for peace in the world.
All incidents endangering the safety of Irish personnel are protested to the Israeli authorities through UNIFIL headquarters. In the case of a serious incident the Department of Foreign Affairs, at my request, makes a formal protest to the Israeli ambassador. Certain procedures are in place for lodging protests while the Deputy will appreciate that diplomatic moves are a matter for the Department of Foreign Affairs. However, we are using whatever influence we can through our membership of the European Union to put pressure on all sides involved in this conflict to cease this ongoing savagery, and to get back to the negotiating table and reach some agreement for the future.
I can assure the Deputy that we are not behind the door in making our feelings known to the Israeli authorities in this instance and, through our membership of the EU, in seeking a diplomatic solution to this ongoing problem.