Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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447. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the current position in relation to the replacement of the LÉ Eithne with a multipurpose vessel; the timelines for the commissioning of the new replacement vessel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4884/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My priority as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the operational capability of the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service is maintained and developed to enable the Defence Forces to carry out their roles as assigned by Government, including overseas deployments. 

The Naval Service is the State's principal sea-going agency and is tasked with a variety of defence and other roles. There are nine ships in the fleet, with LÉ Eithne and LÉ Orla currently in operational reserve while LÉ Niamh has commenced a mid-life refit and upgrade programme.

The White Paper on Defence sets out an ambitious programme of capital investment in the Naval Service. The Defence Equipment Development Plan (EDP) provides a comprehensive list of planned equipment projects which will be progressed over five years. This plan builds on the intentions set out in the White Paper in relation to equipment acquisition, modernisation and upgrade and has been developed to ensure that our Defence Forces have the major equipment platforms, ancillary equipment and force protection equipment to carry out their important roles both at home and overseas.

The replacement of the flagship LÉ Eithne with a multi-role vessel, MRV, is an important element of the EDP and is provided for in the Government's National Development Plan as a major capital project. It is the intention that this new vessel will provide a flexible and adaptive capability for a wide range of maritime tasks.

Following a public tender competition, Marine Advisors have been appointed to support the procurement of the MRV. Work on this project is underway and will inform a public tender competition in due course. The overall time estimated for the procurement and build stages on projects of this nature is generally expected to take between 4 to 6 years.