Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 May 2004
52 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Defence the extent to which further deployment of Irish troops is being considered for overseas missions; the context in which; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13429/04]
View answerIreland is currently contributing approximately 735 Defence Forces personnel to 21 different missions throughout the world. The main commitments are to KFOR in Kosovo, with 203 personnel and to UNMIL in Liberia, with 427 personnel. Other personnel are serving as monitors and observers with the United Nations, the OSCE and the European Union. Staff are also deployed at the organisational headquarters of the OSCE, the UN , NATO and the EU.
In the past year, Ireland reconfigured its commitment in the Balkans replacing the existing military police platoon in SFOR in Bosnia Herzegovina and the transport company in KFOR with an APC Mounted Infantry Company Group in KFOR. The Defence Forces are serving as part of a Finnish battalion with a Swedish led multinational brigade.
A reorganisation and down-sizing of the NATO led forces in KFOR was planned and had partly commenced when civil disturbances broke out in March this year in Kosovo. That down-sizing has now been deferred to allow the situation to settle. The withdrawal of the Irish contingent was planned as part of this down-sizing and was to have been completed by October 2004. However, having regard to the fragility of the peace in Kosovo, and subject to ongoing assessments of the situation on the ground, Ireland will continue to maintain an appropriate presence in KFOR in 2004.
In making reference to the major outbreak of violence in Kosovo in March, I take this opportunity to commend the bravery and professionalism shown by the 27th Infantry Company Group of the Defence Forces who were in Kosovo at the time of the recent disturbances.
Ireland's other current major contribution to peacekeeping is in Liberia. Here, Ireland, together with an infantry company group from Sweden, provides the rapid reaction reserve to the UNMIL force commander. Despite the difficult start to this mission, with the tragic death of Sergeant Derek Mooney of the Army Ranger Wing in a road accident, the mission is proving very successful. Ireland was specifically requested by the UN to participate in a substantive manner in this mission, which is a tribute to the high regard in which the UN holds the Irish Defence Forces. I very much welcome the participation of Sweden as part of the Reserve. This type of co-operation reflects the changing dynamics in peacekeeping. The range and diversity of arrangements now in place for peacekeeping allows us to work in tandem with like-minded nations to contribute in a very effective and meaningful manner to peace support operations throughout the world. Interoperability with other forces is a key factor in our involvement in PfP and in our preparations in recent years for the EU Rapid Reaction Force and it is rewarding to see the effects of the hard work put in by the Defence Forces over several years coming to fruition in such a positive way in the peace support role. In regard to our deployment in Liberia, I have already stated that our participation would be for two to three years.
In the coming 12 months, we look forward to the take-over by the EU of the current NATO led mission in Bosnia Herzegovina. Ireland has already participated in its first EU mission, Operation Artemis, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and we currently have a number of staff deployed at SFOR headquarters. Subject to the approval of the Government and Dáil Éireann and an appropriate UN mandate, I plan that Ireland will make a substantive contribution to the EU mission in SFOR taking account of available resources and ongoing developments in other peace support missions in which we are involved.
