Mr. O'NeillTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans have been made to deploy British units of the rapid reaction corps to Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonUnits assigned to the ACE rapid reaction corps, ARRC, will be available to undertake short, unaccompanied operational tours in Northern Ireland and elsewhere—as is at present the case with units assigned to NATO. So far as United Kingdom-based units are concerned, this represents no change from the present situation. But, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made clear during the defence debate, in future, while still maintaining appropriate levels of readiness for NATO tasks, it will be possible for units based in Germany to take a greater share of these tours than when we faced the threat of surprise Soviet attack.