Written Answers. - Overseas Missions.
Jim O'Keeffe
Question:
162
Mr. J. O'Keeffe
asked the
Minister for Defence
the number and location of Defence Force personnel presently overseas; the anticipated requirement in this regard over the next two years, and if he will make a statement on the future role of the Defence Forces, in relation to overseas duty.
[23249/00]
Bernard J. Durkan
Question:
209
Mr. Durkan
asked the
Minister for Defence
the number of military personnel now serving overseas; their locations and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[23359/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 162 and 209 together.
The number of Defence Forces personnel currently serving overseas is 951. Details of the various missions in which Defence Force personnel are currently serving are in the form of a tabular statement which I propose to circulate with the Official Report. This figure includes 50 additional personnel who were deployed in June 2000 to augment the 87th Irish Battalion following the Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon as well as an engineering party of 50 personnel deployed in August 2000 to construct a number of new positions for Irishbatt in the former Israeli controlled area. These personnel are due to return home at the end of this month and will not be replaced in the 88th Irish Battalion.
As I have indicated to the House previously, Ireland signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations in relation to the United Nations stand-by arrangements system, UNSAS. Ireland has committed up to 850 military personnel for UN service at any one time under UNSAS. There would, however, be no obligation to participate in any particular mission and Dáil approval would be required for the dispatch of a contingent to a specific operation. The decision to participate in UNSAS is a tangible expression of Ireland's continuing commitment to involvement in peacekeeping operations.
The matter of Defence Forces participation in overseas missions is kept under regular review. There exists a standing inter-departmental committee on peacekeeping, under the chairmanship of the Department of Foreign Affairs whose function,inter alia, is to provide a forum for the exchange of views on policy issues relating to Ireland's participation in international peacekeeping with a view to increasing the effectiveness and coherence of policy in this are a and to ensure that policy and its implementation can keep pace in a co-ordinated way with development in international peacekeeping. In addition, as I have indicated earlier today, when bringing proposals regarding Ireland's contribution to the headline goal to Government shortly, I propose to include the results of a completed review of the commitments of the Defence Forces to overseas tasks, as provided for in the White paper on Defence. This review will take account, inter alia, of the developing situation in UNIFIL in the post Israeli withdrawal situation.
UNIFIL has been Ireland's longest and largest peace support contribution spanning a period of over twenty years. It is expected that the UN is likely to maintain a continuing role in Lebanon for some time. The nature and extent of this role will become clearer following a review early next month of the situation which the UN Security Council has decided to undertake following the presentation of a report in the matter by UN Security General at the end of this month.
Members of the Permanent Defence Force currently serving Overseas at 16 Oct 2000;
UN MissionsUNIFIL, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon; 686; UNTSO, United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation – Israel, Syria and Lebanon; 10; UNFICYP, United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus; 4; UNIKOM, United Nations Iraq Kuwait Observer Mission; 7; MINURSO, United Nations Mission for the Referendumin Western Sahara; 3; UNMIK, United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo; 3; UNMOP, United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka; 1; UNTAET, United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor; 44.
UN Mandated MissionsSFOR, Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFOR HQ Sarajevo 50; KFOR, International Security Presence in Kosovo 107; total number of personnel serving with UN missions 915.
EU MissionsEuropean Community Monitor Mission, ECMM, to the former Yugoslavia 13; Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE): OSCE Mission to Bosnia & Herzegovina 7; OSCE Mission in Croatia 4; OSCE Mission in Kosovo 1; OSCE Presence in Albania 1; Staff Officer, Higher Level Planning Group, Vienna 1; Total OSCE Missions 14.
WEU HQ (Brussels)Western European Union Military Staff 1; EU Council Secretariat (Brussels) 1; Liaison Office of Ireland, PfP (Brussels) 2; Representative to EU Interim Military Body (Brussels) 1; Military Representatives/ Advisers/(on secondment to Department of Foreign Affairs); Military Adviser, Permanent Mission to UNHQ, New York 1; Military Adviser, Irish Delegation to OSCE, Vienna 1; Military Representative to Ireland's EU/WEU Delegations, Brussels 1; Military Representative to Partnership Coordination Cell/Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Mons, Belgium.
Total Number of Defence Forces Personnel Serving Overseas 951.
