Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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76. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the extent to which he continues to improve and update equipment and training throughout the Naval Service; the extent to which the Naval Service can now compare on an equal basis in terms of equipment, training and capability in line with the best throughout the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28044/18]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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My priority as Minister with Special Responsibility for Defence is to ensure that the operational capacity of the Defence Forces is maintained to the greatest extent possible so as to enable the Defence Forces to carry out their roles both at home and overseas. The White Paper on Defence underpins the ongoing replacement of the Naval Service fleet.

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. This programme has seen the delivery of three new Naval Service vessels in recent years. The LÉ Samuel Beckett was commissioned in May 2014, LÉ James Joyce was commissioned in September 2015 and LÉ William Butler Yeats was commissioned into service in October 2016.

In June 2016, a contract for an additional sister ship was placed with Babcock International, a British company, bringing investment in the new ships programme to some €250 million since 2010. The fourth ship, to be named LÉ George Bernard Shaw is scheduled for delivery in mid-2018.

The White Paper also provides for the replacement of the current Naval Service flagship LÉ Eithne with a multi role vessel (MRV) which will be enabled for helicopter operations and will also have a freight carrying capacity. Planning has commenced on this project and it is intended to hold a public tender competition in due course to cover the supply of the MRV. This, of course, is 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.

The acquisition of these modern new vessels, combined with a continuous delivery of training of Naval Service personnel, which is line with national and international best practice, will ensure that the operational capabilities of the Naval Service, as the State’s principal seagoing agency, are maintained to the greatest extent possible.