Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The straight answer to the straight question as to whether the role of the Naval Service is being compromised is "Yes". We have a fleet of nine ships. One of them is in service and two are tied up because we do not have sufficient personnel to crew them. Let us call a spade a spade; we have a serious problem in the Naval Service. The service is not at full strength and cannot perform the functions expected of it were it at full strength, although it is doing very well to compensate for that in terms of the work it is doing. The service is highly efficient in the way it operates at sea and on land.

We have a White Paper and a Government commitment to support a fleet that is below strength and that has consequences in terms of fisheries patrols and many of the other really important roles that the Naval Service plays. Despite all of that, the Naval Service has still managed to add significantly to national efforts to respond to Covid-19, including testing on the dock and so on. This shows the flexibility and professionalism of our Defence Forces in general and the Naval Service in particular. However, the status quois not acceptable. We need to be more impactful in a positive way in terms of retention and recruitment in the Naval Service to deal with the shortage of personnel and I am focused on trying to resolve that issue.

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