Vol. 480 No. 8
87 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Defence the number of requests which have been received by his Department in 1997 to supply Defence Force personnel for service outside the State; the dates on which such requests were received; the person who made the requests; the nature, duration and location of the missions; the numbers of people required; the response by his Department to each case; and the reason for the decision in each case. [15254/97]
A total of 14 requests to supply Defence Forces personnel for service outside the State was received in 1997. Details of these requests are as follows.
A request was received from Mr. John O'Shea of GOAL in February 1997 for an officer of the Defence Forces to travel to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia on a four week GOAL assessment trip. This request was approved.
A request was received from HMD International on 6 February 1997 for a project manager in Sarajevo, for a period of six months to one year. This request was not acceded to as the military authorities were unable to release an officer for the appointment in question.
A request from the OSCE was received on 24 February 1997 for the deployment of a communications NCO to the OSCE Mission in Bosnia. Deployment was approved. In the event the OSCE advised that it did not require the services of an Irish NCO for the above post.
In February 1997 a vacancy arose for force commander, United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in Syria (UNDOF). Major General David Stapleton was nominated for the appointment and took up duty in this position on 1 June 1997 for an initial period of one year with the possibility of an extension.
A request was received from HMD International on 5 March 1997 for the provision of an officer to a HMD hospital rehabilitation and medical and trades training programme in Angola for an initial period of three months. The request was, however, put on hold by HMD due to lack of funding.
A request from the OSCE was received on 7 March 1997 for the deployment of four personnel from the Defence Forces as election observers at the local elections scheduled to take place in Croatia on 13 April 1997. Deployment was approved and the relevant personnel were deployed from 8 to 15 April 1997.
