Vol. 542 No. 4
44 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Defence if he expects a possible peacekeeping role for Irish troops if there is a new United Nations sponsored Administration in Afghanistan; and his views on such a proposal. [24374/01]
83 Mr. Power asked the Minister for Defence if new overseas missions in which the Defence Forces may participate are being considered by him; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24643/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 44 and 83 together.
The question of Defence Forces participation in overseas missions is kept under regular review.
Requests from the UN for Irish participation in new missions are considered on a case by case basis within the context of the United Nations Stand-by Arrangement System – UNSAS. As I have indicated to the House previously, in October 1998 Ireland signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations in relation to UNSAS. Ireland has committed up to 850 military personnel for UN service at any one time under this system. There would, however, be no obligation to participate in any 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.
There exists a Standing Interdepartmental 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 area and to ensure that policy and its implementation can keep pace in a co-ordinated way with developments in international peacekeeping.
On 15 June 2001, the UN formally invited Ireland to contribute a Guard and Administration Company of about 150 Defence Forces personnel to serve with the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, UNMEE, with effect from December 2001, for a minimum period of 12 months. Government approval has been given for the dispatch of a contingent of the Permanent Defence Force for service with UNMEE. Dáil approval for the dispatch of the contingent will be sought shortly.
In response to a separate request from the UN, two members of the Defence Forces were deployed to the mission in June 2001 to take up staff appointments in UNMEE Force HQ. Following recent requests from the UN, I have agreed that six more members of the Defence Forces take up staff appointments in UNMEE Force HQ in November 2001.
Question No. 45 answered with Question No. 8.
Question No. 46 answered with Question No. 23.
