Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

The role of the Defence Forces is set out in the White Paper on Defence. The Naval Service provides the maritime element of the Defence Forces and has a general responsibility to meet contingent and actual maritime defence requirements. Arising from the White Paper the primary role of the Naval Service is to provide a fishery protection service in accordance with the State's obligations as a member of the EU. Fishery protection accounts for over 90% of operations.

There are no plans to expand the role of the Naval Service or for the involvement of Naval Service assets in overseas missions, although individual members of the Naval Service may be deployed on overseas peace support operations, as they have been in the past, within a ceiling of 850 personnel serving overseas at any one time.

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