Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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2080. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the position regarding the efforts to procure a multi-role vessel for the Naval Service; the projected cost of acquiring this vessel; and when this vessel is due to come into service. [36890/17]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The most significant investment of recent years by the Defence Organisation has been on the procurement of the new Off-Shore Patrol Vessels for the Naval Service. The third ship in the programme, LÉ William Butler Yeats was commissioned in October 2016, joining LÉ Samuel Beckett and LÉ James Joyce in operational service. A contract for an additional sister ship was placed with Babcock International in June 2016 at a cost of €54.3m, bringing investment in the new ships programme to over €250 million since 2010. The fourth ship, to be named LÉ George Bernard Shaw, is scheduled for delivery in mid 2018. This aligns with the project planning process in place under the White Paper on Defence which will determine the Defence Organisation’s maritime capability requirements.

The White Paper provides for the replacement of the current flagship, LÉ Eithne, by a multi-role vessel (MRV). LÉ Eithne was built in 1984. It is the Government’s intent that this new vessel will provide a flexible and adaptive capability for a wide range of maritime tasks, both at home and overseas. In addition, the two existing Coastal Patrol Vessels, LÉ Ciara and LÉ Orla (also built in 1984) are due for replacement in the coming years. It is outlined in the White Paper that these ships will be replaced with similar type vessels with countermine and counter IED capabilities.

Work has commenced in the Department of Defence on the next phase of the Naval Service Vessel Replacement Programme. The planning process is underway which will see specifications for the replacement vessels drawn up to meet the required operational capabilities. The initial focus will be on the requirement for a multi-role vessel. It is the intention to hold a public tender competition in due course to cover the supply of the MRV subject to the availability of funding within the overall Defence capital funding envelope. The cost of the MRV will only be known once the tender competition is concluded. It is too early to estimate when the MRV is expected to enter operational service.