Vol. 571 No. 2
241 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which he expects or anticipates Irish troops to become involved in international peacekeeping in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21450/03]
There are currently 345 members of the Permanent Defence Forces on overseas duty in UN peacekeeping operations or in multinational forces authorised by the United Nations Security Council. Of these, 61 are serving in eight UN missions in Côte dIvoire, Western Sahara, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cyprus, Lebanon, Kosovo, Timor Leste and the Middle East, while 284 are serving in multinational forces authorised by the Security Council, in Kosovo (KFOR), Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) and in Afghanistan (ISAF).
The Taoiseach announced to the United Nations General Assembly on 25 September that the Government would seek the approval of the Dáil for the deployment of a contingent of the permanent Defence Force to the recently established UN Mission in Liberia, UNMIL.
In relation to the next 12 months, decisions as to the further deployment of members of the Permanent Defence Forces, in response to any invitations we might receive to participate in missions either established by, or authorised by, the Security Council, will be based on the consideration by the Government of a range of political and technical factors relating to the desirability and feasibility of Irish participation. Any such assessment would also need to take into account the numbers of Permanent Defence Force personnel available for overseas service at that time.
