Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2013
397. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Defence his views on the resilient threat management conference on 6 March 2013 which took place under Ireland's EU presidency; if he will reconcile the participation of Irish Defence Forces personnel at such events with Ireland's position of being a neutral country. [14205/13]
View answerThe Resilient Threat Management Conference on 6th March, 2013, was organised by the European Defence Agency and in conjunction with the Irish Presidency of the European Council. Ireland has been a member of the European Defence Agency since 2004. The most pertinent issue facing our troops serving on Peace Support and crisis management operations overseas is Force Protection, and one of the main factors considered when undertaking any operation is protection from threats such as snipers, booby traps and improvised explosive devices.
We all know the toll caused by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and homemade explosives; we know how easy it can be for terrorists to wreak death, havoc and destruction in our countries and communities. We also know there is a need for cooperation and collaboration to counter that threat.
Recent operations have shown that those engaged in hostile terrorist actions are likely to use (IEDs) because the materials to assemble them are easy to come by, they are relatively simple to construct, they are difficult to combat and, as we have found to our cost, they are devastatingly effective. Indeed, criminals engaged in organised crime are also using IEDs and Pipe Bombs in dealing with their adversaries. This is a very worrying development for civil society, which brings the threat of IEDs and their carnage ever more on to our streets and into our communities.
The aim of the Resilient Threat Management Conference was to create a common understanding and appreciation of the challenges posed by IEDs past and present; to establish a vision for how the IED threat will be managed in the future; to generate the will to address these challenges comprehensively by bringing together international actors from the civil and military domain; to spread awareness on future capability requirements and technological opportunities and to increase networking within the community. Therefore, the participation of Irish Defence Forces personnel at the Resilient Threat Management Conference, as experts in this area, is to be welcomed.
With expertise gained over several decades in C-IED operations at home and abroad, the Irish Defence Forces are acutely aware of the importance of continuing to find ways to reduce the effects of IEDs on operations. C-IED is not just about stopping or neutralising an IED once it is already in place, but also about identifying and disrupting the networks that create and initiate IEDs. Understanding the various threat networks at the tactical to strategic levels is vital to success in current and future operations where battle lines are no longer linear.
