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Naval Service Vessels

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 October 2018

Wednesday, 3 October 2018

Questions (47)

Seamus Healy

Question:

47. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if the construction of the multi-role naval vessel at an estimated cost of €200 million has been put out to tender; if so, if a tender has been accepted; if the purchase price or part thereof or other procurement costs of the vessel will be included in his Department's allocation in budget 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40343/18]

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Oral answers (8 contributions)

Will the Minister of State give the Dáil up-to-date details of the planned purchase of a multi-role naval vessel at a cost of €200 million? I ask this question in view of the totally inadequate pay, allowances and conditions of employment of Defence Forces personnel and the retention and recruitment crisis affecting all areas of the Defence Forces - the Army, the Air Corps and the Naval Service.

My priority as Minister of State with responsibility for defence matters is to ensure the operational capability of the Army, the Air Corps and the Naval Service is maintained to the greatest extent possible so as to enable the Defence Forces to carry out their roles as assigned by the Government, both at home and overseas.

As the State’s principal seagoing agency and in accordance with international and domestic law, the Naval Service, through its patrols, undertakes a variety of functions in the maritime domain in accordance with its role in contributing to maritime security. It encompasses the provision of support for other Departments and agencies such the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, An Garda Síochána, the Revenue Commissioners and the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority. The Defence Forces will continue to provide a range of supports for these bodies in accordance with its roles in aid to the civil power and the civil authority and as set out in the applicable memoranda of understanding and service level agreements. In addition, the Naval Service has undertaken a role in meeting additional operational requirements in the Mediterranean Sea.

Future Naval Service capabilities are being planned as part of the White Paper project planning process which will determine the defence organisation's maritime capabilities. The White Paper provides for the replacement of the current Naval Service flagship, the LÉ Eithne, with a multi-role vessel, MRV. It is the Government’s intention that the new vessel will provide flexible and adaptive capability to perform a wide range of maritime tasks, both at home and overseas. The acquisition of a modern vessel will ensure the operational capabilities of the Naval Service, as the State’s principal seagoing agency, will be maintained to the greatest extent and takes account of the overall policy approach in the White Paper on Defence. Planning has commenced on the project and it is intended to hold a public tender competition in due course to cover the supply of the MRV. The design and configuration of the vessel are being considered as part of the planning process. The Deputy has speculated that the new MRV will cost €200 million. However, it is the case that the cost will only be known once the tender competition is concluded. The procurement is, of course, subject to the availability of funding within the overall defence capital funding envelope. As the budgetary position for 2019 has not yet been finalised, it would be premature of me to discuss the defence allocation in that regard. However, I remain very committed, as Minister of State with responsibility for defence matters, to continuing to work to ensure financial resources will be made available to the defence organisation to ensure the required equipment and infrastructural projects will proceed in a diligent manner so as to enable the Army, the Air Corps and the Naval Service to carry out their various roles, both at home and overseas.

I thank the Minister of State but, again, we have received very little detail on the current position of the tender process, etc. Today and also last year in reply to a parliamentary question the Minister of State informed me that the vessel would take part in missions at home and abroad. He also said it would have the capability to carry a full infantry company, with military equipment and landing craft, and have a flight deck capable of catering for military-style helicopters, all at a cost somewhere in the region of €200 million. In what circumstances will members of the Defence Forces be put ashore abroad from this vessel? Could it, for instance, be as part of an aggressive military operation in the Mediterranean? In a recent statement President Macron of France said a new invasion of Libya should be considered. One wonders if it might be something in which the vessel might be involved. In view of the current position on pay and conditions of employment in the Defence Forces, the purchase of the ship should be cancelled. We should fully restore the pay, pensions, allowances and conditions of employment of Defence Forces personnel to be able to retain and recruit personnel in order that the seas around Ireland can be protected, rescue missions undertaken and drug trafficking stopped.

I have firmly believed since my appointment that members of the Defence Forces should be equipped to the very best standard. That is exactly what the Government has been doing in the past few years. There has been significant investment in the Naval Service. I do not see the Defence Forces being involved in any aggressive military operation. The Deputy is fully aware of our policy of neutrality. As I said in my initial reply, we are only in the very early stages of planning and have a long way to go before we get to the tendering process. That will be the stage at which we will look at the financial envelope available. The White Paper provides for the replacement of the Naval Service flagship, the LÉ Eithne, with a multi-role vessel. The LÉ Eithne has been in service for nearly 35 years, having been commissioned in 1984. We need up-to-date equipment and infrastructure for the Defence Forces.

The Minister of State has said the tendering process is in the early stages. I suggest now is the time to scrap it. He also referred to operations in the Mediterranean where Médecins Sans Frontières had been operating a ship, the MV Aquarius. It has since been stopped since it was deregistered by Panama following pressure exerted by the Italian Government. Médecins Sans Frontières has asked the Government to accede to a request to have the ship registered under the Irish flag. Will the Minister of State agree to do so? It would prevent further drownings in the Mediterranean and not cost the Government a penny. It would simply be a humanitarian exercise. I hope the Minister of State will agree to do so.

We are and have been involved in Operation Sophia for some time. I am proud of the great work members of the Naval Service are doing in the Mediterranean. Migrants picked up by it are brought to a safe European port. That has always been and will continue to be the case.

On the matter of the multi-role vessel to which the Deputy referred, we are in the preliminary stages of planning.

The decision on this will not be made next week or next month. I can absolutely assure the Deputy of that.

It is easier to scrap it now at this early stage.

I do not believe we should scrap the project. This is a commitment from the Government. We will continue until tendering stage. When we get to that stage we will look at the resource envelope available to the Defence Forces. I make no apologies for equipping members of the Defence Forces with the very best equipment.

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