Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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35. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the proposed schedule for the retirement of existing naval vessels, the purchase of new vessels and the capabilities of such new vessels. [27141/16]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The White Paper on Defence 2015 contains a commitment to on-going investment in the replacement of Naval Service vessels.

The current Naval Service ship replacement programme has seen the delivery of three new Naval Service vessels in the past three years. Following a tender competition, a contract was placed in October 2010 with Babcock Marine, UK, for the provision of two new Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) for the Naval Service with the option of a third OPV. The first ships LÉ Samuel Beckett was named and commissioned in May 2014 and the second and LÉ James Joyce was named and commissioned in September 2015.

In June 2014 the Department exercised the option under the original contract to place an order for a third Offshore Patrol Vessel which has been delivered and is due to be formally named LÉ William Butler Yeats and commissioned into operational service in the Naval Service in Galway on Monday 17th October 2016. LÉ William Butler Yeats will replace the recently decommissioned LÉ Aisling. The value of the three-ship contract was just over €199 million, inclusive of VAT.

In June 2016 agreement was reached with Babcock International for the provision for an additional ship for the Naval Service to be built in their facility in Appledore, Devon. The ship will be the same class as LÉ Samuel Beckett, LÉ James Joyce and LÉ William Butler Yeats. The agreed contract value for the further ship is €66.78 million inclusive of VAT and delivery is expected within two years. This aligns with the planning process in place under the White Paper on Defence which will determine the Defence Organisation’s maritime capability requirements.

The requirement for a fourth ship is regarded as urgent and expedient given the age of the older remaining ships in the fleet, LÉ Orla, LÉ Ciara and LÉ Eithne all of which are over thirty years of age. The additional ship will allow the Naval Service meet its patrol day targets with due cognisance to the significant additional operational requirements for the Naval fleet under Operational Pontus in the Mediterranean Sea.

The White Paper on Defence provides for the replacement of the current flagship, LÉ Eithne, by a multi-role vessel (MRV). LÉ Eithne was built in 1984.

In addition, the two existing Coastal Patrol Vessels, LÉ Ciara and LÉ Orla are due for replacement in the coming years; both ships were also built in 1984. The White Paper outlines that replacement ships will have countermine and counter IED capabilities.

Work has commenced in the Department of Defence on further ship acquisition. The specifications for the replacement vessels will be drawn up and a public tender competition will be instigated to cover the supply of such future ships within the overall available funding envelope. The Programme for Government also mentions the acquisition of a ninth ship for the Naval Service. This will be considered in detail in the normal way taking account of the overall ship renewal plan and the progression of the planning exercises to which I have already referred.