Vol. 438 No. 6
14 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Defence his views on the optimum strength of the Naval Service in view of current and anticipated requirements, including fisheries protection, sea rescue and other such requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
75 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Defence the number of new positions which will be created in the Naval Service during the present recruitment process; and the plans, if any, he has to expand the Naval Reserve in view of that body's excellent training potential for young men and women.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 75 together.
Eighty recruits will be enlisted in the Naval Service in the current year. I am satisfied that the recruitment of the additional personnel will enable the Naval Service to continue to perform all of its allotted tasks for the foreseeable future. However, the strength of the service will be kept under review in the light of operational requirements.
The question of establishing additional units of An Slua Muirí is at present being examined. It is not possible at this stage to say what will be the outcome of that examination.
While welcoming the additional recruits to the Naval Service, would the Minister agree that recruits are one thing but that the lack of sufficient vessels to undertake the task is quite another? Could he perhaps combine this question with No. 19 in relation to the possibility of securing additional Naval Service vessels to enable the Naval Service perform the duties expected of them, in particular, in terms of fisheries protection and, latterly, in addition to fishery protection, the possibility of securing our shores against the importation of drugs? Taking all of these matters together, would the Minister agree that, in addition to greater strengths in the Naval Service, we need more vessels, to perform not only a function for this country but for the European Union as a whole?
As the Deputy will be aware, we have seven fishery protection vessels more than capable of doing the job and performing the functions required of them. They are at present fully operational and fully crewed. In addition to the Naval vessels, of course, we have the Air Corps so that there is an interface between the Air Corps and the Navy in the strongest possible manner. They guard our waters very thoroughly. I am glad to be able to inform the Deputy, not for the first time, that in addition to our existing capacity to patrol our fishing grounds and present jurisdiction, we shall have two new Casa aircraft between June and September next. Therefore, we will have additional elements, as it were, to guard our fishing waters.
With the greatest respect, would the Minister be realistic: we have seven vessels and jurisdiction over 16 per cent of European Union waters. The Minister himself admitted and fought very hard, at the Council of Ministers' meeting, in relation to the Irish box. Would he agree that the reality is that Spanish vessels, in particular, are ravaging our sea waters, stealing our fish, simply because we do not have the capacity to provide adequate protection of our fishery waters because of the lack of naval vessels? Might I respectfully suggest to the Minister that, if he continues to make the type of statements he has just made, it will render it extremely difficult for us to make a proper case to the European Union, which has a responsibility to assist this country in patrolling 16 per cent of EU waters, to ensure that whatever agreements are put in place are adhered to, so that we will not have a continuation of Spanish and Portuguese boats ravaging our seas daily?
I take the Deputy's question to a point. But the reality is that, within our present capacity — the availability of the type of vessels I have just outlined and the connection between the Navy and the Air Corps — we are well able to manage fisheries protection. That is not to suggest for one moment — and I would not want the Deputy to go away with any other message — that any additional vessel or aircraft we might have, within the context of the patrolling of 16 per cent of European Union waters, would not be very welcome indeed. Of course, it would be my intention to pursue that very strongly. In fairness to the Navy and the Air Corps, they are doing a very good job with the available vessels and aircraft they have.
We all agree with that.
I might bring to the Minister's attention that in recent years there has been quite frightening news on occasions, first of all, of three boatloads of guns and ammunition having come into this country undetected and last year, almost on a weekly basis, of drugs having been smuggled to our south coast undetected. Would the Minister agree that we should seek assistance from the European Union since it is in its interest as much as ours that the south coast of Ireland should not be a staging post for terrorists' and drug traffickers.
In fairness to the Naval Service and the Garda Síochána they have done a very good job——
I accept that.
——in detecting and apprehending a number of drug smugglers. I will certainly make it my business to pursue the point raised by the Deputy but I do not want to understate the role played by the Garda and the Defence Forces.
I appreciate that.
