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Defence Forces Equipment

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 April 2017

Thursday, 13 April 2017

Questions (396)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

396. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the status of the efforts to refurbish the Army’s fleet of armoured personnel carriers; and the projected date for completion of this contract. [18862/17]

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Written answers

My priority as Minister with Responsibility for Defence is to ensure that the operational capability of the Defence Forces is maintained to the greatest extent possible so as to enable them to carry out their roles as assigned by Government as set out on the White Paper on Defence. Equipment priorities for the Army are being considered in the context of the lifetime of the White Paper on Defence as part of the capability development and equipment planning process.

The White Paper provides that the Army will continue to retain all-arms conventional military capabilities. The principal aim over the period of the White Paper will be to replace and upgrade, as required, existing capabilities in order to retain a flexible response for a wide range of operational requirements both at home and overseas.

There is focus on the essential force protection provided by armoured vehicles, and in this regard a maintenance and upgrade programme has commenced for the current fleet of 80 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) which will seek to ensure viability of the fleet out to 2030.

A contract was agreed in December 2016 with General Dynamics European Land Systems – Mowag, the original manufacturer of the fleet who is based in Switzerland, for a maintenance and upgrade programme. The value of the contract is €55m exclusive of VAT.

The Mowag APC is a key operational vehicle for overseas service, and the programme of work will be carried out on a phased basis over the next 5-6 years to ensure the availability of vehicles in that period.

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