Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality had the opportunity to visit Flag Officer Mark Mellett and his team in Cork late last year. I was mightily impressed with Flag Officer Mellett's vision for the Naval Service. The innovation displayed and the partnerships the service has formed with academic and other institutions are remarkable. The service has set itself the objective of being the world leader, a high ambition but when we see the operation in Cork, and the way the service has worked to develop operations in conjunction with engineering companies, where it can look at machine gunnery without having to go to sea by working with computerised models, is incredible.

When we see the operations the Naval Service carries out and the way it goes about its work, it is a service to be proud of and we must give it the resources it deserves. We are all aware of the operations and great successes it has enjoyed in recent years but we are seeing heroin and other drugs on the streets now and the concern is that much of this comes by sea. We must support one of the most innovative sectors of the public service and we must give it what it needs to do the job.

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