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Naval Service Vessels

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 June 2018

Tuesday, 12 June 2018

Questions (147)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

147. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence when the new Naval Service ship LÉ George Bernard Shaw will arrive into the fleet; the estimated cost of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25598/18]

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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 the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service to carry out their roles as assigned by Government.

The most significant investment of recent years by the Defence Organisation has been on the procurement of the new Off-Shore Patrol Vessels for the Naval Service. This programme has seen the delivery of three new naval Service vessels since 2014. The LÉ Samuel Beckett was commissioned in May 2014, LÉ James Joyce was commissioned in September 2015 and LÉ William Butler Yeats was commissioned into service in October 2016.

In June 2016, a contract for an additional sister ship was agreed at a cost of €54.3m, bringing investment in the new ships programme to some €250 million since 2010. The build of the fourth ship, to be named LÉ George Bernard Shaw, is progressing well at Babcock Marine Appledore in the UK. The ship is scheduled to undergo Sea Acceptance Trials (SAT) in mid July 2018, and the delivery date of the ship will be confirmed on the successful completion of the SAT.

The White Paper on Defence provides for the replacement of the current Naval Service flagship LÉ Eithne with a multi role vessel (MRV). It is the Government’s intent that this new vessel will provide a flexible and adaptive capability for a wide range of maritime tasks, both at home and overseas. Planning has commenced on this project and it is intended to hold a public tender competition in due course for the supply of the MRV. This, of course, is subject to the availability of funding within the overall Defence capital funding envelope. The cost of the MRV will only be know once the tender competition is concluded.

The acquisition of these modern new vessels, combined with an ongoing maintenance regime for all vessels within the fleet, will ensure that the operational capabilities of the Naval Service, as the State’s principal seagoing agency, are maintained to the greatest extent.

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