HC Deb 12 November 1979 vol 973 cc428-9W
Mr. Peter Robinson

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the present membership level of the Ulster Defence Regiment; and what is the actual active service level of the regiment.

Mr. Hayhoe

The strength of the Ulster Defence Regiment at 31 October was:

Permanent Cadre 2534
Part time 4909
Regular Army attachments 124
Total 7567

All members of the regiment have the liability to duty if called out. The part-time members report on average for two nights a week in addition to training.

Mr. Peter Robinson

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Ulster Defence Regiment have been killed or injured on duty; and how many have been killed or injured off duty since the formation of the regiment.

Mr. Hayhoe

11 members of the Ulster Defence Regiment have been killed on duty and 87 have been killed whilst off duty since the formation of the regiment. 179 soldiers from the regiment have been injured; the injury statistics do not distinguish between on and off-duty members of the UDR.

Mr. Peter Robinson

asked the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions in the past six months the Ulster Defence Regiment in Northern Ireland has been fired at by terrorists; on how many occasions it returned fire; and how many terrorists were killed or injured as a result.

Mr. Hayhoe

In the past six months members of the Ulster Defence Regiment have been fired at on four occasions whilst on duty and eight occasions whilst off duty. Fire was returned on one occasion. No civilian casualties were recorded.