I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 57 together.
Ireland has participated in the international security presence in Kosovo, KFOR, since August 1999. The mission is authorised under Chapter VII of the UN Charter and was approved by Dáil Éireann on 1 July 1999 following a Government decision of 29 June 1999. At present, the Irish contingent comprises an infantry group of 260 personnel together with a number of personnel in staff posts at various headquarters. The infantry group deployed last September replaced a transport group which had been deployed with KFOR since August 1999. Three members of Defence Forces personnel are also serving with the United Nations interim administration mission in Kosovo, UNMIK. The Irish infantry group operates as part of a multinational grouping within the Finnish battalion. It comprises a Mowag APC mounted company together with support and logistic elements.
The role of KFOR is to support the maintenance of civil law and order within Kosovo so as to develop a climate of safety and security which will enable the transfer of increased responsibility to the civil authorities. As the House will be aware, ethnic violence erupted in Kosovo last week, setting back ethnic relations between the Albanians and Serbs in the Kosovo region. I am advised by the military authorities that the wounding of a Serb male in the mainly Kosovar-Serb village of Caglavica, followed by an incident involving a number of Kosovar-Albanian children, fuelled the interethnic conflict leading to extended civil disorder. In response to these disturbances, an Irish-Finnish platoon was deployed as part of a Swedish battalion-led company in the Caglavica-Gracinica area and took up blocking positions between Pristina and Caglavica. In attempting to prevent a crowd of approximately 3,000 Kosovar-Albanian protesters from moving from Pristina into Caglavica, there were some clashes resulting in minor injuries to a small number of soldiers and some damage to KFOR vehicles. Approximately ten Irish personnel were treated for minor cuts and bruises but did not require to be hospitalised. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the actions of the Irish troops serving in Kosovo on the professional manner in which they discharged their duties and dealt with this very tense and dangerous situation.
The current situation in the region remains tense as a result of these incidents. The Irish C company of the Finnish-Irish battle group continues to provide elements of the operational company deployed to the Swedish battalion area of operations. The safety of Irish personnel serving overseas is always of paramount concern to me. Defence Forces personnel serving on all overseas missions are equipped with the most modern and effective equipment available. This equipment enables troops to carry out the mission assigned, as well as providing the required protection specific to the mission. I am satisfied that all appropriate security measures are in place to ensure the safety of all Defence Forces personnel serving with KFOR.
On the question of deploying further Irish troops to the Balkans, Ireland has not been requested to date to deploy further personnel to the region. Requests for Defence Forces personnel to serve on overseas missions are considered on a case-by-case basis in the prevailing circumstances.