Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask the committee to bear with me as I have a significant number of notes and may go back and forth between questions asked by different members. I agree with Deputy Berry. Deputy Cowen stated we should always appreciate the contribution of the Defence Forces overseas, particularly with UNIFIL and UNDOF, given the current situation. Deputy Berry made the fair point that without the presence of UNIFIL, the situation in Lebanon between Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces and Israel could be far worse. Likewise in terms of UNDOF. It is valuable work. As Deputy Cowen stated, for the families involved it is six months without a father, mother, partner, son or daughter. There is worry and stress that go with that. When we are sending off the various contingents, all the families are there. It is an emotional occasion for them. There is pride and many other emotions. What comes to mind is the fact that people are going into harm’s way. I spoke to the military this morning in the context of the current situation. Prior to the terrible killing last year of Private Sean Rooney, we had a long period of good fortune, so to speak, in terms of not having loss of life. In the 1970s, however, as the Cathaoirleach is probably aware, we lost a significant number of Defence Forces personnel, to an extent that there is a monument in respect of those who died on overseas service. We are very conscious of that.

On the equipment side, I am struck that people do not have a clear sense of this. The two inshore patrol vessels, IPVs, were purchased for €26 million. We have eight ships now. The two IPVs have arrived. The aim is to have all the readaptation work and so on finished by the end of January 2024. Work will then have to be done in terms of how we will redeploy to man those vessels. There is an issue in terms of recruitment and retention. The vessels are important because they will have work on the east coast as well and a chance to get a bit of the naval experience in Dublin and on the east coast more generally to aid recruitment into the Naval Service. A mid-life refurbishment programme to ensure the LÉ Niamh and LÉ Róisínare fit for purpose is under way. The LÉ Róisínwas completed and the LÉ Niamhextension programme is ongoing. It is scheduled for completion later this year. Up to €12.3 million per vessel has been budgeted for the programme. The multi-role vehicle project aims to replace the decommissioned Naval Service flagship, LÉ Eithne, which was commissioned in 1984. That joint project team is working with marine adviser services including the bid service, the public procurement consultants. The build stage for that is approximately three to four years. Again, it is down to shipyard scheduling capacity but the process is under way and following the public spending code for projects that exceed €200 million, as this one does.

Then we have a range of equipment, including a force protection update. A maintenance upgrade programme on the Army’s fleet of 80 Mowag armoured personnel carriers is well under way, at a cost of €95 million. That is nearing completion. The first 73 refurbished vehicles have been delivered. There were delays because of Covid-19. The Mowag gunnery simulator in the Curragh officially opened last September. A contract extension for an additional 30 armoured vehicles was signed in 2020-21. The first 26 vehicles of this contract were delivered in 2021, with the final four delivered in January 2023. Following on from the acquisition of 34 armoured vehicles in 2017 and 2018, the completion of this contract more than doubles the size of the armoured utility vehicle, AUV, fleet to 54 vehicles in total, at a cost of €20.4 million, inclusive of VAT, to date. A total of 220 non-armoured vehicles have been delivered.

As regards aircraft, the C295 military transport aircraft are now both with us, plus the larger transport to which Deputy Berry referred. These are all significant projects. The Gormanston training campus, where all three services will train together, is well under way. There are far more projects but I wished to give the committee the current status in respect of the C295s, equipment, fit-out and all that. There is a lot of capital in train. Deputy Cowen asked a key question. I am always wary of bandying about figures, such as whether a sum is one point something billion euro or €2 billion. Once we enter contracts, we enter contracts. It is the same with tender situations. There is an issue with procurement at the moment as a result of the war in Ukraine, That affects munitions in particular but also military equipment more generally.

The biggest project is radar. It is taking time to first get an assessment of what is required for the country. The military authorities are working on that. We want an overarching radar system, embracing air, land and sea. That is fundamental. It must be done. I could give a figure now but it may change. As in the case of many capital projects, the final cost may be far in excess of what somebody might estimate today it will cost. As the Government is committed to level of ambition, LOA, 2, however, we simply must do it. We have to tender competitively and all that but there are projects that must be done. Ultimately, that will determine the out-turn by 2028 or 2030. There is a basic level of refurbishment of barracks, a basic level of equipment and a long list of equipment and weaponry that we simply must procure.

The biggest challenge is personnel. Deputy Berry referenced-----