Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 February 2024
151. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence whether his Department considered the use of the decommissioned vessels LÉ Eithne, LÉ Ciara and LÉ Orla by the Irish Coastguard or the Irish Naval Reserve for training purposes or as a maritime museum ship located at Haulbowline Island in Cork Harbour, as noted in a scoping study (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5952/24]
View answerIn September 2020,the then Minister for Defence received a submission from the Defence Forces in relation to the regeneration of the Naval Service, and following this submission a Civil/Military Working Group was established to decommission Naval Service ships under the Naval Service Regeneration Action Plan .
The Working Group on Decommissioning recommended that the decommissioning and disposal of three (3) Naval Service ships, namely the LÉ EITHNE P31, LÉ ORLA P41, and LÉ CIARA P42, should be progressed as soon as is practicable, taking into account resourcing and the impact of maintaining the ships.
A number of organisations, including Dublin Port and the local authorities in Cork and Limerick, indicated their interest in taking LÉ Eithne as a museum piece / tourist attraction following her decommissioning. The Department of Defence engaged extensively with these interested parties but following, in some cases, lengthy discussions, all these parties withdrew their interest in taking the ship.
While my Department did not itself carry out a feasibility study in relation to turning LÉ Eithne into a naval or maritime museum, I am informed that Dublin Port commissioned two reports in addition to a ship survey looking at the feasibility of taking LÉ Eithne as a historic museum ship in Dublin Port. However, Dublin Port subsequently withdrew their interest in taking the vessel.
When, despite the best efforts of all involved, these discussions were not successful in identifying an alternative use for LÉ Eithne post-decommissioning, I decided that the vessel should be disposed of by recycling in an environmentally sound manner along with two other decommissioned Naval Service vessels, LÉ Ciara and LÉ Orla.
I am aware of the scoping study commissioned by the Heritage Council and the Irish Naval Service. This study has not been progressed since its publication in 2007.
