Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On bomb disposal, there are two personnel annually, so there will not be eight people at any one time.

Regarding the charge, we pay a standing charge of €400,000 annually to the EDA. There are other areas where we are able to benefit from being members of the EDA. Then we have the ECMAN project to which the Deputy referred, which has a cost of €75,000. I am not sure what head that might be under in the Estimates but I will find out and revert to the Deputy with an answer.

The goal for the new SatCom Market project is to provide a cost-effective SatCom service solution for the benefit of EDA participating member states and EU institutions. The Defence Forces currently have a commercial contract in place for the provision of these services which the Deputy inquired about. Participation in this project will provide the Defence Forces with security of supply and back up in the event of any failure on the part of our current supplier, with whom we will not be breaking our existing contract. It will be used only if there is a failure on the part of our current supplier or an urgent operational requirement which cannot be made under the current contract. It will be beneficial for operations overseas, on maritime patrols and Operation Sophia. The cost is on a pay-by-use basis, without any standing charge. The EDA is not there to make money. I cannot give an exact cost of involvement if we have to avail of the service but the rate would be very keen. If there was a sudden breakdown in the existing service we will be able to tap into this SatCom, and we pay for whatever we use.