Vol. 491 No. 7
43 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Defence if he has asked the Chief of Staff to examine the feasibility of Irish military personnel contributing a major contingent to UN peacekeeping or peace enforcement missions other than UNIFIL. [9279/98]
The level of participation by the Defence Forces in overseas missions is kept under continual review in order to ensure that security needs at home can be met at all times and that the cost to the Defence Vote does not become excessive. There are no requests at present to contribute to any new United Nations mission.
The mandate for the Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFOR, to which Ireland contributes a contingent of 50 personnel, will expire at the end of this month. It is expected that the UN Security Council will shortly approve a follow-on force, similar in size and mandate to the existing SFOR. The Department of Foreign Affairs, in consultation with my Department, is currently considering the matter of Ireland's continuing involvement with this force.
