Vol. 521 No. 5
42 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Defence the number of Defence Forces personnel currently serving abroad; the number on each mission; the period of time each member is asked to serve in each area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17493/00]
The number of Defence Forces personnel currently serving overseas is 920. Details of the various missions, including the duration of the tours of duty-assignment, are in the form of a tabular statement which I propose to circulate in the Official Report.
Members of the Permanent Defence Force currently serving Overseas at 20 June 2000
|
1. |
UN Missions |
No. of Personnel Serving |
Tour of Duty-Assignment Months |
|
|
(i) |
UNIFIL (United Nations Force in Lebanon) |
659 |
6/12 |
|
|
(ii) |
UNTSO (United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation) – Israel, Syria and Lebanon |
10 |
18 |
|
|
(iii) |
UNFICYP (United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus) |
4 |
12 |
|
|
(iv) |
UNIFKOM (United Nations Iraq Kuwait Observer Mission) |
7 |
12 |
|
1. |
UN Missions |
No. of Personnel Serving |
Tour of Duty-Assignment Months |
|
|
(v) |
MINURSO (United Nations Missions for the Referendum in Western Sahara) |
6 |
6/12 |
|
|
(vi) |
UNMIK (United Nations Mission in Kosovo) |
3 |
12 |
|
|
(vii) |
UNMOP (United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka) |
1 |
12 |
|
|
(viii) |
UNTAET (United Nations Transitional Authority in East Timor) |
40 |
4/6 |
|
|
UN Mandated Missions |
|
(ix) |
SFOR Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and HerzegovinaSFOR HQ Sarajevo |
50 |
6 |
|
|
KFOR Kosovo Force |
105 |
6 |
||
|
Total number of personnel serving with UN Missions |
885 |
|||
|
2. |
UN HQ (New York) |
||
|
There is one officer on Secondment to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) |
1 |
12 |
|
|
3. |
EU Missions |
||
|
European Community Monitor Mission (ECMM) to the former Yugoslavia |
13 |
12 |
|
|
4. |
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) |
|
(i) |
OSCE Mission to Bosnia & Herzegovina |
8 |
12 |
|
|
(ii) |
OSCE Mission in Croatia |
4 |
12 |
|
|
(iii) |
OSCE Mission in Kosovo |
1 |
12 |
|
|
(ix) |
OSCE Presence in Albania |
1 |
12 |
|
|
(v) |
Staff Officer, Higher Level Planning Group, Vienna. |
1 |
12 |
|
|
Total OSCE Missions |
15 |
|||
|
5. |
WEU HQ (Brussels) |
||
|
There is one officer on Secondment to the Western European Union (WEU) Military Staff in Brussels |
1 |
9 |
|
|
6. |
EU (Brussels)There is one officer on secondment to the EU Council Secretariat w.e.f.19, June, 2000. |
1 |
24 |
|
7. |
Military Liaison Officers/Advisors/Delegates (on secondment to Dept of Foreign Affairs) |
|
(i) |
Military Adviser, Permanent Mission to UNHQ, New York |
1 |
24 |
|
|
(ii) |
Military Adviser, Irish Delegation to OSCE, Vienna |
1 |
24 |
|
|
(iii) |
Military Delegate to Ireland's Observer Delegation to WesternEuropean Union, Brussels |
1 |
24 |
|
|
(iv) |
Military Liaison Officer, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Mons, Belgium (SFOR) |
1 |
24 |
|
|
Total Number of Defence Forces Personnel Serving Overseas |
920 |
Ms Fitzgerald: Given our commitment in the Lebanon and the other demands on the Defence Forces, how many troops will we be in a position to give to the EU Rapid Reaction Force?
A number of issues must be resolved. We are carrying out a very strict review of all the assignments engaged in during approximately 15 different missions. We may be in a position to scale down on some of these but we expect to be coming out of South Lebanon within a short time. We are well above the UNSAS commitment of 850. This is approximately the figure we would expect to be in a position to provide on a general basis. Another contingent of 1,700 or 1,800 is being trained at home. There are preliminary preparations for a third contingent making some preparatory move. Therefore, one is talking about a continual few thousand between those engaged in training to go on the next contingent and those who will follow.
