Sorca Clarke
Question:216. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Defence the number of days in 2018, 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021 each operational ship has been to sea. [36917/21]
View answerDáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 July 2021
216. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Defence the number of days in 2018, 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021 each operational ship has been to sea. [36917/21]
View answer217. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Defence the number of days in 2018, 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021 that each ship was not at sea due to mechanical problems or repairs whether scheduled and unscheduled in tabular form. [36918/21]
View answer218. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Defence the number of days in 2018, 2019, 2020 and to date in 2021 that Naval Service vessels were not at sea due to staff shortages in tabular form. [36919/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 216, 217 and 218 together.
The Naval Service is the State's principal sea-going agency and is tasked with a variety of defence and other roles. The primary day-to-day tasking of the Naval Service is to provide a fishery protection service in accordance with the State's obligations as a member of the European Union. The Naval Service is tasked with patrolling all Irish waters from the shoreline to the outer limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone. These patrols are carried out on a regular and frequent basis and are directed to all areas of Irish waters as necessary.
Scheduled patrol days can be impacted by a range of factors including adverse weather conditions, unscheduled maintenance as well as staffing issues.
The table below sets out the number of patrol days carried out by each of the Naval Services 9 ships from 2018 up to the end of May 2021. There is also a table outlining the number of cancelled Naval Service patrol days broken down by number of days lost due to mechanical reasons and due to personnel reasons.
Total number of days at sea completed by ship 2018 - 2021
Ship |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
To end May 2021 |
|
LÉ Eithne |
189 |
64 |
97 |
0 |
|
LÉ Orla |
135 |
79 |
0 |
0 |
|
LÉ Ciara |
158 |
124 |
134 |
0 |
|
LÉ Roisin |
114 |
0 |
0 |
29 |
|
LÉ Niamh |
117 |
156 |
133 |
0 |
|
LÉ Samuel Beckett |
166 |
166 |
155 |
72 |
|
LÉ James Joyce |
202 |
164 |
159 |
74 |
|
LÉ WB Yeats |
204 |
159 |
163 |
74 |
|
LÉ GB Shaw |
13 |
149 |
166 |
106 |
|
Total |
1298 |
1061 |
1007 |
355 |
Naval Service cancelled Patrol days
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
To end May 2021 |
|
Scheduled Patrol Days Lost: Mechanical Reasons* |
154 |
42 |
53 |
47 |
Scheduled Patrol Days Lost: Personnel Issues |
53 |
52 |
28 |
101 |
*For operational and security reasons a breakdown of this information by ship cannot be released at this time.