Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last month, the Irish Examiner reported that only one ship is currently available to patrol our 1 million sq. km exclusive economic zone. The newspaper also stated that a lack of expertise delayed the use of two smaller vessels, which arrived from New Zealand last May. These are unlikely to become operational until the winter, at the earliest. These two vessels cost €26 million. A decade ago, we had eight Naval Service ships patrolling a smaller area than we do today. We now have one, and as the Tánaiste said, possibly two, with a third on stand-by. To have 31 patrols cancelled last year is quite shocking. The Tánaiste has said that because of the reconfiguration there have been no cancellations this year. This reminds me of the housing targets. If the targets are so low, they will always be reached. Because of the reconfiguration, the Government is not cancelling patrols because it is not doing the patrols that should be done. In fairness, to have only two ships on the water sends a message to people who want to illegally fish and to drug barons who use Ireland as a place to land major supplies of drugs. Does the Tánaiste think they will be deterred by two ships? I do not think so.

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