Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 9: To ask the Minister for Defence his plans for the replacement of Naval Service vessels; the expected timetable for the purchase of the three new vessels; the budget available to his Department for this purpose; if tenders have been sought for the new vessels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21994/07]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 48: To ask the Minister for Defence if the goal of a contract for the three new naval vessels, set to be placed by the start of 2008, will be met on time; and if the proposed budget for defence will provide for this purchase. [22093/07]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 48 together.

The Naval Service provides the maritime element of the Defence Forces and has a general responsibility to meet contingent and actual maritime defence requirements. In the 2000 White Paper on Defence, the Government decided that the Naval Service would be based on an eight-ship flotilla and committed to a modernisation and replacement strategy to maximise the operational capacity of those eight vessels consistent with the roles assigned to the Naval Service.

The White Paper specifically provides that "new vessels will be brought on stream to replace older ones as these fall due for replacement". Naval Service vessels are replaced when they have come to the end of their useful life, which is normally approximately 30 years. Three ships will fall due for replacement over the next three to five years, namely, LE Emer, commissioned in 1978, LE Aoife, commissioned in 1979 and LE Aisling, commissioned in 1980.

Following a detailed examination of the needs of the Naval Service, a vessel replacement strategy has been put in place to cover the period up to 2012. The vessel replacement strategy combined with a continuous process of refurbishment will ensure that the operational capability of the Naval Service is maintained at a very high level.

Following Government approval in July 2007 to go to tender, notice of a competition for the purchase of replacement vessels for the Naval Service was placed in the Official Journal of the European Union on 24 August 2007. The competition is for the purchase of two offshore patrol vessels, with an option on a third, and one extended patrol vessel, with an option on a second. The options provide an effective value-for-money opportunity, at locked in prices, to provide replacements for Naval Service vessels which will reach the end of their service life in the years immediately following the current replacement programme. The competition uses a restricted procedure which comprises two stages — stage one, a request for proposals, and stage two, an invitation to tender.

The closing date for stage one is 26 October next. Following evaluation of proposals a detailed specification will issue to those invited to participate in stage two. The evaluation of stage one proposals and the preparation of the detailed specification for stage two will be carried out between November 2007 and April 2008. Depending on the quality of the proposals received, a maximum of seven companies will be invited to tender. This invitation to tender is expected to issue in May 2008, with tenders due in July or August. Following detailed tender evaluation, it is intended to award a contract in late 2008.

The decision to proceed with the final award of contract to purchase the vessels will be subject to Government approval and agreement on funding, the full requirement for which will not be known until the tender competition has concluded. However, it is expected that the cost of the three new ships will be of the order of €180 million. The funding arrangements for this will be a matter for further consideration, in consultation with my colleague. the Minister for Finance, in the context of the Estimates process.

It is expected that the vessels will be delivered on a phased basis between 2010 and 2012. The Government is committed to continuous investment in the equipment needs of the Naval Service to enable it to carry out the roles assigned to it. The most recent ships purchased for the Naval Service were the LE Róisín commissioned in 1999 and the LE Niamh commissioned in 2001. The total cost of the two ships was approximately €50 million.

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Is it intended to procure a vessel that will be 120 m in length, will be able to provide humanitarian relief and troop support in any part of the world and will be designed for fishery protection purposes? In the event that the Department proceeds to procure three ships, is it correct that the other two vessels will be approximately 80 m in length?

Unfortunately, the Naval Service will need to assume a much greater role in intercepting drugs being smuggled into Ireland. Have factors such as speed and the type of search equipment required to perform this function been taken into consideration in determining the type of naval vessel to be procured?

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The two or possibly three offshore patrol vessels will be 80m to 90min length. The extended patrol vessel — wemay exercise an option to procure two such vessels — will be between 130m and 140m.These vessels will be able to perform the tasks to which the Deputy referred, including the provision of humanitarian relief. However, we must work out precisely what functions they will perform.

Drug interdiction, one of the functions of the Naval Service, has been taken into account. The prospect of increasingly adverse weather conditions was also considered. Reports from the Meteorological Office and projections for the future indicate that at least one extended vessel would be required to enable the Naval Service to properly perform its functions.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Will the 2008 Estimates make provision for three new vessels? Is the Minister satisfied that the Naval Service is capable of properly policing the coastline with its current complement of ships, especially in terms of drug interception tasks? I understand the Naval Service will only intercept a vessel if directed to do so as part of a security operation and does not actively seek to intercept ships.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The replacement vessels will be considered as part of the 2008 Estimates. In July this year, the Government authorised me to issue an invitation to tender. This decision is indicative of the Government's adherence to its promise in the White Paper to maintain an eight-ship flotilla.

Policing the coastline is a difficult job and I wish we had three or four times more ships to perform this task. Unfortunately, large amounts of drugs enter Europe from the Caribbean and further afield, some of which are landed in Ireland, with the bulk being landed in Portugal and Spain. The naval protection systems in the Iberian countries and the United States have not proved effective in halting the flow of drugs. I do not know of a country with a coastline which has sufficient security to guarantee that drugs will not enter the jurisdiction. The Government is committed to maintaining a flotilla of at least eight ships and carrying out a substantial programme of refurbishment to ensure that ships are operational during their lifetime. We are examining the possibility of acquiring larger ships and better arming new ships to ensure they can do their job in this regard.

As the Naval Service intercepts vessels as part of a joint operation with the Garda Síochána and Customs and Excise, it must receive direction. I understand the customs authorities are examining how this approach works in practice. It is possible that a revision of procedures will take place in the near future.