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

I did not suggest anything was handed over to the private sector; I just gave the Deputy a statement of fact on what EirGrid is doing. One of the reasons we established the Commission on the Defence Forces in the first place was that I and others in Government felt there were capacity issues that needed to be addressed. That is why we have committed to spending significantly increased amounts of money next year and in the years thereafter, right up until 2028, to get to LOA 2 and beyond. Part of reaching LOA 2 will give us more subsea capability but we will not get there if we are spending an extra €10 million on capital investment, which is what the Deputy was suggesting for the recent budget. Let us have an honest conversation; we need to spend a lot more money on defence equipment. That was not a jab at the Deputy by the way because we are all trying to get to the same place. Regardless of who is in government up to 2028, we need to make sure we have a consistent policy on increased investment in our Defence Forces in order that we have more capabilities and a greater capacity to do more in spaces like this and elsewhere. We will have a huge amount of offshore wind infrastructure that we will also have to protect over the next decade. The Naval Service and the Air Corps need significant investment and they will get it.

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