Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 114: To ask the Minister for Defence the repair work recently carried out to the hulls of the [i]LE Emer[/i] and the [i]LE Aoife[/i]; the length of time that each vessel was out of commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1993/10]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The Naval Service flotilla comprises of eight vessels - the three oldest of which are the L.E. Emer (commissioned in 1978), the L.E. Aoife (commissioned in 1979) and the L.E. Aisling (commissioned in 1980).

There is a programme of continuous planned and preventative maintenance to ensure that all Naval Service vessels are kept in a seaworthy condition, and the Naval Service will only send ships to sea in a seaworthy condition. The three older ships are monitored through increased inspections and maintenance. These inspections have recently resulted in extensive repairs being carried out to the L.E. Emer and the L.E. Aoife, with holes in the hull plating of both vessels being detected and repaired in the course of dry-docking.

When the L.E. Emer was routinely dry-docked in August 2009, a hole, 4 cm in diameter, was found in the ship's hull shell plating, starboard side. As a result of this, an ultra sound survey of the hull was conducted and two further areas were identified that required repair. As a consequence of these unplanned repairs, the programmed dry-dock period of three weeks had to be extended to six weeks at an estimated additional cost of c. €100,000. The cause of the damage is likely to be salt water erosion and micro-biological contamination propagation.

As a result of the emergence of this problem on the L.E. Emer, it was decided to conduct inspections on board both L.E. Aoife and L.E. Aisling. Problems were discovered with the L.E. Aoife, with extensive localised loss of hull plate detected. As a result, an emergency dry-dock had to be carried out at a cost of c. €150,000, and the ship was out of service for a total of six weeks.

No such problems have been detected with L.E. Aisling, although further inspection and examination work is planned.

A vessel replacement strategy for the Naval Service is currently in progress and a tender competition for a ship replacement programme commenced in 2007. Last year a preferred bidder was selected for the potential purchase of up to three Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) and detailed and extensive contract negotiations are now close to conclusion. The decision to proceed with an award of contract will be subject to Government approval and agreement on funding.

As Minister for Defence, the health and safety of all Defence Forces personnel, and compliance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005 and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007, are of utmost importance to me.