Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 June 2020
2. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence his plans to evacuate members of the Defence Forces from the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to the worsening security situation in the region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9651/20]
View answerTwo Defence Force personnel serving in the MONUSCO mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were due to complete their 6 months deployments in March/mid-April but were extended within the mission by a further month. This then brought them into the period when the UN suspended rotations in all UN missions due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The rotation of these personnel was further extended at mission level by a further three months.
As the deployment of the personnel to a sub-Saharan African country had been extended beyond their initial six month deployment, there was a requirement to extract them as soon as possible to allow for a national medical assessment of the officers.
The officers in question returned to Ireland on Sunday, 31 May by commercial means, and following a medical assessment, they are currently self-isolating at home for a two week period.
New entrants into the mission are currently precluded under UN and MONUSCO mission protocols. The UN has recently advised that transitional measures will apply from July to December 2020 which will include a partial resumption of UN rotations with rigorous quarantine requirements and periodic reviews built into the process.
The full impact of Covid 19 on future rotations is currently being examined by my Department with the Defence Forces.
