Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 4 Dec 2001

Vol. 545 No. 4

Written Answers. - Defence Forces Equipment.

Brian O'Shea

Ceist:

88 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Defence the progress made to date regarding the acquisition of new Piranha armoured personnel carriers for the Defence Forces; the number delivered to date; the number in respect of which cracks have been discovered in the hulls; when the balance are expected to be delivered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30657/01]

Minister for Defence (Mr. M. Smith)

Following a tender competition which was conducted in strict compliance with Government procurement procedures, a contract was signed on 30 November 1999 for the supply by Mowag of Switzerland of 40 Armoured Personnel Carriers, APCs, initial spares, special tools and training courses.

The 40 vehicles, known as Piranha 8 x 8s, are being manufactured as 34 troop carrier variants, four command variants, one recovery variant and one ambulance variant. The total cost of the contract, which is spread over five years, is in the region of £40 million, including VAT.

The full production run on the APCs is well under way. A total of 22 APCs have now been delivered to the Curragh Camp. In addition, a further APC has been accepted by the Department but was retained in Switzerland for training purposes. The balance of the APCs will be delivered by the end of February to the beginning of March next year – almost two years ahead of previous expectations. Training of Defence Force personnel on the APCs has been continuing apace and the first overseas deployment of the APCs has taken place with the despatch of five APCs to Eritrea for service with UNMEE.

In August 2001, the appearance of cracks in the hulls of three APCs was noticed in the Curragh Camp. The issue was dealt with as a warranty item under the guarantee given by Mowag under the contract. Detailed discussions took place between Mowag and the Department on the cracks and expert investigations were put in train to determine their exact cause. I am advised that these cracks are not entirely unusual because of the type of manufacturing process involved in the production of the steel hulls of the APCs.

As part of the investigations which are still ongoing, a range of remedial actions have been taken to deal with the issues raised as a result of the appearance of the cracks and the cracks on the three APCs were repaired. Cracks have also appeared in the hulls of three other APCs and again they are being dealt with as a warranty item. The repairs to the hulls will not affect the integrity of the ballistic protection afforded by the APCs. An extended warranty has been agreed with Mowag to cover the Department against the possibility of the appearance of cracks in any of the 40 APCs to be delivered under the contract.

The question of the supply of an additional 20 APCs is the subject of ongoing negotiations with Mowag.