Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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502. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if the contract to replace LÉ Eithne will be put out to tender before the end of 2022. [55525/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the White Paper on Defence sets out an ambitious programme of capital investment in the Naval Service. The replacement of the flagship LÉ Eithne with a multi-role vessel (MRV) is an important element of the Defence Equipment Development Plan and is provided for in the Government's National Development Plan as a major capital project. It is the Government’s 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. This work is ongoing and will inform a public tender competition that is expected to commence in 2023.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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503. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if a new cadetship recruitment campaign for the Naval Service will be launched before the end of 2022. [55526/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There are no plans to launch a new cadetship recruitment campaign for the Naval Service before the end of 2022.

The 2022 Naval Service Cadetship competition was launched in Quarter 2 of this year which resulted in 4 cadets being inducted recently. Other applications are at advanced stages of assessment.