Mr. Eoin Colgan:

On an operational basis, the Naval Service Reserve has been putting members on Naval Service vessels for years as an integral part of the crews on board. In fact, during the boom there were times when naval vessels could not have put to sea except that Naval Service Reserve provided enough personnel to make up a safe number of crew. In addition, in the past we have provided safety boats for regattas and other maritime events.

To address the point on using the unemployed, what mainly comes to mind is the new direction for the Naval Service Reserve in which the Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service, Commodore Mark Mellett, has pointed us. That has us interacting with the University of Limerick and the industrial output. Essentially, we have been directed to get involved with the underwater robotics section of the University of Limerick with a view to the development of new technologies that will aid the push to use the maritime resources. It is an integral part of the renewable resource push for the maritime section. We are to get involved with them and help develop their technologies.

On another aspect that we are dealing with, we have talked with Mr. Seán Cullen of the Geological Survey of Ireland. They are tasked, among other matters, with carrying out the detailed surveying of the seabed. One of the matters we have discussed with them is that they have a great deal of equipment, such as sonar scanning equipment and boats, but not necessarily the personnel whereas we have the personnel. We had an establishment of 400 and it was reduced to 200 by the VFM. For an island nation, we could fit the entire naval reserve into this one room here. Looking at the Geological Survey of Ireland, we could train our Naval Service Reserve personnel to use its equipment in partnership with it. At weekends and for week-long training periods we could use that equipment to carry out these detailed seabed surveys in coastal waters, in estuaries such as the Shannon Estuary, in Cork Harbour and in Dublin Harbour to the benefit of the State. Also, these reserve personnel would then be trained to carry out such activities and giving them experience and, effectively, a trade. That is where we are aiming. It is a potential use of the NSR for the training of the unemployed, as was alluded to.