Minister Kehoe outlines €2.28 million military search project for Defence Forces

DETAILS of a €2.28m six-year project to develop common processes, techniques and procedures for military search by the Defence Forces were outlined to the Dáil by Minister of State Paul Kehoe. He said the proposal sought approval for Ireland to participate in the European Defence Agency (EDA) military search capability-building project.

‘This is a key capability when working in a contested environment,’ he said.

‘The Defence Forces engage extensively in specialist military search activities, dealing with unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices and ensuring a safe and secure operating environment for military operations. The Defence Forces engineer specialist search and clearance teams are regularly deployed on both home and overseas operations.’

There are, he said, two specialist search teams operating overseas in UNDOF and UNIFIL and they predominantly conduct route searches and area clearances in advance of vehicle or foot patrols.

‘The Defence Forces have also provided this capability to An Garda Síochána in support of aid to civil power operations during high profile visits by foreign VIPs and for searches for bodies and weapons,’ he said.

‘A recent example of this was the deployment of military search teams to search buildings and open areas involved in the Papal visit last summer. There have also been a number of searches for the bodies of missing persons and more conventional operations against paramilitary groups and criminal organisations.’