Trevor Sargent
Ceist:141 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Defence if he will report on the contribution being made by the Defence Forces to international peacekeeping operations. [22985/98]
Written Answers. - Overseas Missions.
Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:166 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Defence the number and location of Army personnel posted overseas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27052/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 141 and 166 together.
As the detailed information sought in relation to the number and location of Defence Forces personnel serving overseas is in the form of a tabular statement I propose to circulate it in the Official Report.
Ireland has participated extensively in peace-keeping for the last 40 years. Since the start of Ireland's UN involvement in 1958 more than 45,000 individual missions have been recorded. There is currently a total of 751 Irish military personnel serving abroad, comprising 132 officers and 619 enlisted personnel.
Ireland continues to build on a long tradition of service to the founding principles of the UN by making practical commitments of personnel on a continuing basis — proportionately, far beyond its size. As well as the extensive involvement of Irish military personnel in UN peacekeeping operations, a number of senior military officers have, down the years, served with distinction in senior appointments in UN missions. Most recently Lieutenant General David Stapleton served as force commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in Syria — UNDOF. These appointments bring prestige and honour not only to the Defence Forces but to the country as a whole. Ireland has recently been requested by the UN to provide an officer in the rank of Brigadier General for the appointment of deputy force commander, UNIFIL.
The concept of standby forces for UN peace-keeping missions has been in the course of development since 1990. This system is intended to enhance the United Nations' capacity for rapid response to emergency situations. I am happy to say that it has been decided that the Defence Forces will participate in this system, known as the United Nations Stand-by Arrangements System — UNSAS. I recently signed, on behalf of Ireland, an MOU with the UN in relation to our participation in UNSAS.
Participation in UNSAS will not entail the commitment of additional personnel for UN service over and above the numbers which obtained during Ireland's participation in UN service in Somalia. That is 850 military personnel. There would be no obligation to participate in any particular mission and, as at present, Dáil approval would be required for the dispatch of a contingent to a specific operation. Our decision to participate in UNSAS is a tangible expression of Ireland's continuing commitment to involvement in peacekeeping operations.
Ireland is currently contributing to SFOR, the NATO-led stabilisation force in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This mission operates under a United Nations Security Council mandate. Defence Forces participation in peacekeeping missions involves major operational taskings and a heavy financial commitment. It is my policy to ensure that the Defence Forces are adequately trained, equipped and resourced to continue in this very important role of peacekeeping under the auspices of the UN.
Overall, international participation by the Defence Forces in peacekeeping missions has had considerable benefits and has been a positive element in our relations with other countries.
Members of the Permanent Defence Force Currently Serving Overseas.
|
1. |
UN Missions |
||
|
(i) |
UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) |
614 |
|
|
(ii) |
UNTSO (United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation) — Israel, Syria and Lebanon |
11 |
|
|
(iii) |
UNFICYP (United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus) |
29 |
|
|
(iv) |
UNIKOM (United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission) |
5 |
|
|
(v) |
UNSMA (United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan) |
1 |
|
|
(vi) |
MINURSO (United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara) |
8 |
|
|
(vii) |
United Nations Operations in the former Yugoslavia |
||
|
(a) UNPREDEP (United Nations Preventive Deployment Force) |
2 |
||
|
(b) UNMOP (United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka) |
1 |
||
|
(viii) |
Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina |
||
|
(a) SFOR HQ Sarajevo |
49 |
||
|
(b) Military Liaison Officer, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Mons, Belgium |
1 |
||
|
Total number of personnel serving with UN missions |
721 |
||
|
2. |
UN Secretariat |
||
|
There is one officer on loan to the UN Secretariat in New York. |
1 |
||
|
3. |
EU Missions |
||
|
European Community Monitor Mission (ECMM) to the former Yugoslavia |
12 |
||
|
4. |
Organisation on Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) |
||
|
(i) |
Military Observers (1 located in Georgia, 5 in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2 in Albania) |
8 |
|
|
(ii) |
Staff Officer, High Level Planning Group, Vienna |
1 |
|
|
(iii) |
Staff Appointments, Croatia |
5 |
|
|
Total OSCE |
14 |
||
|
5. |
Military Advisers-Delegates |
||
|
(i) |
Military Adviser, Permanent Mission to UNHQ, New York |
1 |
|
|
(ii) |
Military Adviser, Irish Delegation to OSCE, Vienna |
1 |
|
|
(iii) |
Military Delegate to Ireland's Observer Delegation to Western European Union, Brussels |
1 |
|
|
Total Number of Defence Forces Personnel Serving Overseas |
751 |