Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 October 2023
75. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the number of previous and active missions that the Army Ranger Wing has been involved in; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42607/23]
View answerThe Army Ranger Wing (ARW) are the Special Operations Forces of the Defence Forces. The need for a high level of preparedness to deal with any requests for Special Forces operations is inherent in the unit’s mission, and members, as we have seen in recent days, are trained to the highest levels of motivation, physical fitness and skill at arms for their specialist role. The ARW is on standby 24/7 to be called upon to undertake duties in any part of the country and the unit can also be deployed overseas for a variety of taskings.
The unique skills of the ARW were demonstrated last week when a Joint Task Force operation comprising members of the Naval Service, Air Corps, Army Ranger Wing together with the Customs Service of the Revenue Commissioners and An Garda Síochána implemented a co-ordinated operation at sea, which resulted in the detention of the cargo vessel MV MATTHEW, in the early hours of last Wednesday. A significant quantity of controlled drugs were located onboard and a number of arrests made. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the bravery and professionalism of the men and women of the Defence Forces who were involved in this challenging and dangerous operation.
The ARW is a valuable on-island asset and their expertise is used in support of protection and security operations in Ireland with some of the more prominent taskings in recent years including the provision of specialist security reports on the visits of the late Queen Elizabeth II and President Obama. The Unit has also been tasked with overseas taskings, most recently in the Sudan and Afghanistan.
The Deputy will appreciate that given the sensitive nature of Army Ranger Wing operations, it would not be appropriate for security and operational reasons to disclose the level of statistical detail sought by the Deputy.
