Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 32: To ask the Minister for Defence the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the programme for Government to ensure Irish troops have the most modern and effective range of protective equipment, weaponry and training available. [20176/08]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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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 re-invested in the provision of equipment and infrastructure for the Defence Forces. The level of investment has ensured that Defence Forces' personnel have the most modern and effective range of equipment to carry out their day-to-day roles both at home and overseas and for training purposes. I will ensure that this investment will continue into the future taking into account the clear commitment in the Programme for Government.

From the Army's perspective the major investment has been in the contracts for Mowag Armoured Personnel Carriers. In the period from 2001 to 2007 the Defence Forces acquired a total of eighty Mowag APCs at a cost of €120m. The APCs have been used extensively on overseas service. Currently there are twenty-two APCs in Chad and nine in Kosovo. A tender competition has recently been initiated for the acquisition of Light Tactical Armoured Vehicles and tenders are due back in early July 2008. The intention is that the LTAV will complement the Mowag APCs in the conduct of conventional and Peace Support Operations and will fill a gap that exists between soft-skinned vehicles and the Mowags.

The proposal is to acquire an initial twenty-seven vehicles (17 for overseas mission and 10 at home for training). The tender competition will allow for two additional options, for another twenty-seven vehicles. There is a sum of €6m in this years Estimates provision as a down payment on an LTAV contract. 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. 8000 units of Body Armour, 12,000 Helmets and 12,000 Rucksacks have been delivered in recent years at a combined total cost of €13.5m.

To complete the modern integrated protection and load carrying system, an order has been placed for the supply of 12,000 Battle Vests at a cost of some €2.2m. The Battle Vests are used for the carriage of essential items such as ammunition, personal radio, water and ancillary equipment. The order will be completed by the second half of 2008. 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. A further 500 GPMGs have been ordered from FN Herstal for delivery late this year at a cost of €5.7m. In addition 1,400 pistols were purchased from Heckler and Koch to replace the FN 9mm Browning Automatic at a cost of €800,000.

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.