Written answers

Thursday, 4 October 2007

Department of Defence

Defence Forces Equipment

3:00 pm

Photo of Joe CostelloJoe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 16: To ask the Minister for Defence the proposals he has in order for Irish troops to have the most modern and effective range of protective equipment, weaponry and training available. [21980/07]

Photo of Brian HayesBrian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 42: To ask the Minister for Defence if the €20 million saved by the reduction in troop numbers has been fully reinvested in the Defence Forces; and the way it has been reinvested. [22092/07]

Photo of Willie O'DeaWillie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 42 together.

The acquisition of new equipment for the Defence Forces continues to be a key focus for me as Minister for Defence. Significant investment has taken place in recent years across all facets and elements of the Defence Forces. This investment has been assisted by pay savings arising from the reduction in the strength of the Permanent Defence Force in the context of the White Paper of 2000, which have been fully re-invested in the provision of equipment and infrastructure for the Defence Forces. The level of investment has ensured that Defence Force's personnel have the most modern and effective range of equipment to carry our their day-to-day roles both at home and overseas and for training purposes and I will ensure that this investment will continue into the future.

From the Army's perspective the major investment has been in the contracts for Mowag Armoured Personnel Carriers. In the period from 2001 to 2004 the Defence Forces acquired a total of sixty-five Mowag APCs at a cost of €84m. In December 2005, a further contract was signed with Mowag for the supply of fifteen additional Piranha Armoured Vehicles for delivery in 2007. The contract value was €36.5m. Nine of the vehicles are fitted with a Kongsberg Remote Weapon Station with a 12.7mm machine gun, and six are fitted with an Oto Melara turret armed with a 30mm cannon. The fifteen vehicles, twelve of which have now been delivered, will be used mainly in Surveillance and Reconnaissance roles on overseas missions. The final three vehicles are due for delivery this week.

In recent years, significant work has been carried out on the acquisition of an Integrated Protection and Load Carrying System for individual soldiers. This system includes Body Armour, Helmets, Back Packs (Rucksacks) and Battle Vests. The position with regard to the acquisition of these items is as follows:

8000 units of body armour for the individual soldier on operational duties have been delivered. The new body armour provides significantly greater protection, comfort and coverage than the old model as well as a doubling of the range of sizes available. The total value of the order was in the region of €8m.

12,000 helmets have been delivered. The value of the order was circa. €2.5m.

12,000 rucksacks have been delivered at a total cost of €3m.

To complete the modern integrated protection and load carrying system, one other competition is currently in train for the acquisition of Battle Vests used for the carriage by the individual soldier of essential items such as ammunition, personal radio, water and ancillary equipment. This tender competition is ongoing.

Other equipment acquisitions for the Army in recent times, includes 400 General Purpose Machine guns acquired from FN Herstal in Belgium at a cost of €4.4m, 1,400 pistols purchased from Heckler and Koch to replace the FN 9mm Browning Automatic at a cost of €800,000 and 6 Field Deployable Command Post Containers acquired at a cost of €4.4m. There has also been a substantive programmme for the acquisition of modern transport vehicles. Acquisitions in recent years include Nissan patrols, minibuses, Ford transits, heavy load carrying vehicles (Drops) and specialist EOD vehicles.

The personal equipment which the individual soldier in the Defence Forces has for operational use, both at home and overseas, compares very favourably with the equipment in use by our European Partners.

Significant investment in the Air Corps has also taken place with the acquisition of effectively an all new fleet. The Naval Service has also seen the recent launch of a fleet replacement programme.

On the issue of training, I am very satisfied that military training techniques are up to date in all respects. Defence Forces training plans are structured to provide the capabilities needed to execute the roles assigned to them under the White Paper on Defence of February 2000. The challenges of preparing military units for participation in international peace support operations constitute the major dimension of Defence Forces collective training. The primary focus of this training is the attainment of a capability for military interoperability in order to conduct peace support operations to international standards.

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