Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 17: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of nuclear, biological and chemical suits available to the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12338/05]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The Defence Forces have available to them equipment for monitoring and protecting their members in dealing with nuclear, biological or chemical, NBC, threats identified from time to time.

They hold an extensive range of modern NBC equipment that meets their current requirements. This range includes approximately 7,000 NBC suits, 1,500 of which were delivered in 2004. It is planned to purchase a further 1,000 NBC suits this year and a further 1,000 suits in 2006.