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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 15 Jun 1999

Vol. 506 No. 2

Written Answers. - Overseas Missions.

John Dennehy

Question:

146 Mr. Dennehy asked the Minister for Defence the number of Irish troops serving on United Nations peace keeping duties; and the plans, if any, he has for the development of this important undertaking in coming years. [15067/99]

The number of Defence Forces personnel currently serving with UN missions is 706, details of which follow in the form of a tabular statement.

The position in relation to requests for personnel for such missions is that any such requests are considered on their merits in the prevailing circumstances within the context of the United Nations Stand-by Arrangements System – UNSAS. Under the UNSAS, the maximum number of military personnel available to serve on overseas missions with the United Nations at any one time is 850. There is no obligation to participate in any mission and it would be a matter for the Government and the Dáil, as appropriate, to decide on the deployment, or redeployment as necessary, of contingents of the Defence Forces to individual missions.

On behalf of Ireland, I signed a memorandum of understanding with the UN when I visited UN headquarters, New York, in October 1998. The decision to participate in UNSAS is a tangible expression of Ireland's continuing commitment to involvement in United Nations peacekeeping operations.

Members of the Permanent Defence Force serving with UN missions at 10 June 1999

UN Missions

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

609

vi(ii)UNTSO (United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation) – Israel, Syria and Lebanon

11

v(iii)UNFICYP (United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus)

20

ii(iv)UNIKOM (United Nations Iraq Kuwait Observer Mission)

5

iii(v)UNSMA (United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan)

1

ii(vi)MINURSO (United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara)

7

(vii)UNSCOM (United Nations Special Commission – Iraq). There is one officer on loan to the UNSCOM head office in the UN Secretariat in New York.

1

(viii)United Nations Operations in the former Yugoslavia UNMOP (United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka)

1

(ix)Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina

(viii)(a)SFOR HQ Sarajevo

50

(viii)(b)Military Liaison Officer, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Mons, Belgium

1

(viii)Total number of personnel serving with UN missions

706

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