Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 22 Apr 1998

Vol. 489 No. 7

Written Answers. - Defence Forces Equipment.

Michael D'Arcy

Ceist:

119 Mr. D'Arcy asked the Minister for Defence if he has satisfied himself with the levels of military equipment within the Army; the plans, if any, he has in this regard; if he has satisfied himself with the levels of equipment available to staff in the Lebanon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9051/98]

Minister for Defence (Mr. M. Smith)

In recent years considerable sums have been expended under the Defence Vote for new weapons, transport and communications equipment and in providing new and up-graded living and operational accommodation for the Defence Forces. Some of the more important developments in relation to the improvement of Defence Forces' equipment are: a new fishery patrol vessel due for delivery in 1999; the supply of new turrets and fire directing systems for fitting, during 1998 and 1999, to existing armoured cars; the purchase of refurbished 105mm. light artillery guns, for delivery in 1998, to replace "25 pounder" guns which are now obsolete; delivery of the final instalment of equipment to complete a major programme to provide new tactical VHF radios for the Defence Forces at a total cost of nearly £10 million; expenditure of approximately £3 million on new troop carrying vehicles.

The question of procuring armoured personnel carriers is under consideration in my Department at present. A project team was established in 1997 comprising civilian and military personnel and was tasked with identifying the most suitable type of APC for the Defence Forces, the numbers and variants required and the estimated costs involved. The procurement process will be undertaken in two stages by way of a competition which will be conducted in accordance with Government contracts procedures. In stage one a general request for proposals — RFP — will issue to interested companies, based on a broad-parameter specification. This will establish product availability in the market place as well as an indication of the costs involved. I expect that documentation relating to this stage will issue in the next few days. In the second stage a request for tenders — RFT — based on a more precisely defined specification, will issue to a restricted list of companies — those deemed successful in the first stage. The project team, already in place, will manage the procurement process through all stages to ensure that value for money is obtained for the expenditure involved.

Requests for participation by the Defence Forces in international peacekeeping missions are considered on their merits by the Government on a case by case basis. Where a decision is taken to respond to any such request the military unit concerned will be provided with the equipment necessary for the carrying out of its mission. The Defence Forces are currently participating in a number of overseas missions involving a total of 750 personnel and troops serving on such missions are provided with adequate resources to carry out their tasks.