Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 87: To ask the Minister for Defence the progress he expects to make during 2009 in regard to the acquisition by the Naval Service of modern new replacement vessels; if the plan will be delayed by the cuts in the funding for his Department announced in the 7 April 2009 supplementary budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17781/09]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 441: To ask the Minister for Defence if agreement on funding and approval has been received to award a contract for the purchase of two offshore patrol vessels for the Naval Service; when a decision will be made on this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18115/09]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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Question 442: To ask the Minister for Defence the expected timetable for the acquisition of three new vessels for the Naval Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18116/09]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 87, 441 and 442 together.

Following Government approval in July 2007, notice of a tender competition for the purchase of replacement vessels for the Naval Service was sent to the Official Journal of the European Union on 24 August 2007. The competition is for the purchase of two Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV's) with an option of a third and one Extended Patrol Vessel (EPV) 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.

Following Stage 1 of the tender competition for the OPVs, Stage 2 of the competition commenced on the 12th September 2008 with the issue of an Invitation to Tender to the shipbuilders who had been short-listed as part of the Stage 1 process. This document included a very detailed ship specification. The detailed tender responses were returned to the Department by the shipbuilders on the 11 November last. The Tender evaluation commenced immediately and continued for a number of weeks. Consultants were engaged under contract to assist with the tender evaluation. A preferred bidder has been selected and contract negotiations have recently commenced. No contract has yet been signed. However, I expect to bring this matter to Government shortly.

Subject to Government approval on funding, it is expected that the new vessels will be delivered for acceptance by the Naval Service on a phased basis between 2011 and 2013. The expected timetable for the delivery of the first OPV will be approximately 30 months after the date of signing of the contract whilst the specified delivery date for the second OPV will be approximately 37 months after the date of signing of the contract. If the Department exercises its option of purchasing a third OPV, a mutually agreeable delivery date shall be negotiated. These timelines are indicative and do not prejudice the right of the Department to adjust or alter the delivery schedule at the contract negotiation stage.

In the current difficult economic environment, it is important that we look to the efficiencies which all parts of the public sector can make so as to continue to deliver high quality public services within a more constrained financial resource envelope. However, it is also important that we continue to invest in public services so as we can maintain service levels into the future. Within the resources available to us, to maintain capacity, we need to continue the process of modernisation and reinvestment in the Defence Forces generally, into the future. The Naval Service Ships Programme is part of this process.

The acquisition of these modern new vessels will ensure that the Naval Service will be fully equipped to carry out its day to day roles in enforcing the State's sovereign rights over our waters and our fisheries and meeting Ireland's obligations in the area of maritime safety and security and fisheries protection. In relation to the larger EPV, the Department intends to complete the contract negotiations in relation to the OPV before the second stage of the EPV competition is initiated. As with the OPVs, any decision to award a contract for the purchase of an EPV must be approved by the Government.