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

They could be or it could be loose talk, but there is no way they could identify a company because we are nowhere near procurement. This is very complex and it is not something the Defence Forces have gone at previously. In fact, we may work with other countries that have done this previously and could tell us the mistakes they made or advise us not to go down a given route. We are going to seek advice from others who have gone down this route, because we cannot get it wrong. There were suggestions that we might have one system for land and another for air, but we want one overall, national system. This will be a big expenditure item.

We gave timelines in the strategic framework. The needs phase is due to be completed in the second quarter of this year, while the requirements phase will build on the work carried out during the needs phase to further develop the business case and complete the project, design and planning . That will continue until the fourth quarter of this year. The acquisition phase, or procurement process, is estimated to continue until the third quarter of 2025 and the contract delivery phase will commence thereafter, with an estimated completion timeframe of 2028. By the time we put out the tender and so on, we will be looking at three years or more to deliver a primary radar system.

I do not want to accuse the media or other sources of making things up, but perhaps people are speculating about there being only a certain number of companies in the field. People can speculate away. We are not even at the procurement stage and will not be there until the third quarter of next year.