Vol. 548 No. 3
92 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Defence the progress made in the acquisition of new naval patrol vessels to rejuvenate the fleet in order that drug dealing and illegal fishing can be fully combatted; and his views on whether the fleet is adequate to meet needs and the needs of the Naval Service. [4789/02]
121 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Defence the progress made in the acquisition of new naval patrol vessels to rejuvenate the fleet in order that drug dealing and illegal fishing will be fully combated; and his views on whether the fleet is adequate to meet needs in this regard and those of the Naval Service. [4870/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 92 and 121 together.
The Naval Service is the State's principal seagoing agency and is tasked with a variety of defence and other roles. It is equipped with a total of eight vessels comprising one helicopter carrying vessel, five off shore patrol vessels and two coastal patrol vessels. Among this complement of vessels is the LE Roisín, which was commissioned into the Naval Service in December, 1999 and the LE Niamh, which was commissioned in September 2001. Both ships were built by Appledore Shipbuilders Limited in England and their modern, state of the art, design and fit are proving a tremendous asset to the Naval Service in carrying out their roles.
The main day to day role 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 Service is tasked with patrolling all Irish waters from the shoreline to the outer limits of the exclusive economic zone. Fishery protection activity accounts for over 90% of all Naval Service patrol time. However, as the need arises, Naval Service vessels may be deployed to other duties such as aid to the civil power, search and rescue, drug interdiction operations and assistance with pollution control.
I am satisfied that, with the addition of LE Roisín and LE Niamh during the lifetime of this Government, the existing resources enable the Naval Service to respond very effectively to the above taskings.
