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

The Deputy will be pleased to hear that I was in Dún Laoghaire using the facilities of the harbour a few days ago when the Naval Service picked me up in a rig and took me to the LÉ George Bernard Shawwhere we spent nearly 24 hours on patrol down the east coast and along the south coast.

It was a good opportunity to spend some time with our naval personnel and to speak to them about the challenges and issues for them in the Defence Forces in terms of their career choices and so on. It was time well spent. I also witnessed their training procedures on deck and the skill levels that our Naval Service has reached.

The Deputy would like the replacement of the LÉ Eithneto be twinned with Dún Laoghaire. I cannot commit to that now on the floor of the Dáil, but we will bear it in mind when those decisions are made. The Deputy might be able to refer to this conversation if it is successful.

See this speech in context