§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops there were at each garrison in Northern Ireland in(a) 1999, b) 2000 and (c) 2001. [123964]
§ Mr. SpellarThe information required is set out in the table. In addition, we have also included Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel based in Northern Ireland.
30 April 1999 Strength as at1 30 April 2000 Belfast Garrison2 6,591 5,812 Northern Garrison 3,390 3,406 Southern Garrison 3,537 3,437 Royal Air Force 1,150 1,144 Royal Navy 182 179 Total 14,850 13,978 1 Excludes those forces fully committed to Northern Ireland but rear based in GB. 2 A number of Force Troop units reside within the Belfast Garrison geographical area but are often called upon to support units within the other garrison areas. The number of Armed Forces deployed in Northern Ireland in 2001 will depend on the security situation. While we hope the recent momentum in the peace process will be sustained, it is not possible to predict the numbers of Armed Forces that will be stationed in Northern Ireland next year.