Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 13 Feb 2002

Vol. 548 No. 3

Written Answers. - Defence Forces Equipment.

Dick Spring

Ceist:

56 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Defence the progress made to date in regard to 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 is expected to be delivered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4687/02]

Jack Wall

Ceist:

97 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Defence if he has received a recommendation from the Defence Forces for the acquisition of additional armoured personnel carriers and light armoured vehicles in addition to the Piranhas already being acquired; if so, the extent and cost of the proposed purchases; the period over which the purchases are likely to take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4654/02]

Minister for Defence (Mr. M. Smith):

I propose to take Questions Nos. 56 and 97 together.

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 €50.8 million, including VAT.

The full production run on the APCs is almost complete. A total of 32 APCs have now been delivered to the Curragh Camp. A further five APCs are scheduled for delivery on or before 22 February 2002. The balance, i.e. three APCs will be delivered by the end of March 2002 – 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 dispatch of five APCs to Eritrea for service with UNMEE. A further APC is due to be dispatched for service in Eritrea in the near future.

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 a result of the investigations, a range of remedial actions has 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. Since then, cracks have also appeared in the hulls of four other APCs and again they have being dealt with as a warranty item. Firing tests have shown that the repairs to the hulls will not affect the integrity of the ballistic protection afforded by the APCs. The military authorities are happy with the method of repair of the APCs in question. An extended warranty from one to five years 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 current contract contains an option for the supply of up to 40 additional APCs. This option is exercisable until January 2003. Discussions took place with representatives from Mowag in the latter months of 2001 on the option clause. However because of the cracks, it was considered prudent to leave any uptake of the option for the present time. The matter will be revisited later this year when the current APCs have been operational for a period of time.

Question No. 57 answered with Question No. 36.