Vol. 509 No. 4
68 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Defence if there is a recommended maximum time which naval personnel should spend at sea during a tour of duty; if there is a similar time to be spent on shore duties; if so, if he will give details in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20585/99]
A member of the Naval Service is normally posted to a naval vessel for a deployment period of two years. During this period the ship is operational – away from base on patrol – for approximately 180 days per annum. This operational period is made up of two or three week patrols separated by similar periods back at base on maintenance. In the normal course of events, he/she would then be posted to a shore appointment for a two year period and this cycle would then be repeated.
Because of manpower difficulties in the service, particularly in certain grades, it is not always possible to offer the desired even ratio between seagoing and shore duty. In order to achieve this desired balance between seagoing and shore duty for all its personnel, the objective of the Naval service is to fill all vacancies in the establishment through a range of recruitment and other specialist induction initiatives.
