Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The former Naval Service flagship vessel LÉ Eithne was decommissioned in 2022.

In July 2022, the then Minister for Defence accepted the recommendation of the joint civil-military Working Group on Decommissioning that the decommissioning and disposal of three (3) Naval Service ships, namely LÉ Eithne P31, LÉ Orla P41, and LÉ Ciara P42, should be progressed as soon as practicable, taking into account the age and condition of the vessels and the resourcing and maintenance implications of retaining the vessels.

Following the decision to decommission and dispose of the ships, the method of disposal came under consideration. A number of disposal options were considered, including (1) Possible donation of LÉ Eithne as a museum piece / tourist attraction; (2) Recycling at an EU approved Ship Recycling Facility; (3) Sale by Public Auction; and (4) a Government to Government transfer of LÉ Orla and LÉ Ciara.

A number of organisations, including Dublin Port and the local authorities in Cork and Limerick, indicated their interest in taking LÉ Eithne as a museum piece / tourist attraction following her decommissioning. The Department of Defence engaged extensively with these interested parties but following in some cases lengthy discussions, all these parties withdrew their interest in taking the ship.

I am informed that Dublin Port commissioned two reports in addition to a ship survey looking at the feasibility of taking LÉ Eithne as a historic museum ship in Dublin Port. However, Dublin Port subsequently withdrew their interest in taking the vessel.

When, despite the best efforts of all involved, these discussions were not successful in identifying an alternative use for LÉ Eithne post-decommissioning, I decided that the vessel should be disposed of by recycling in an environmentally sound manner along with two other decommissioned Naval Service vessels, LÉ Ciara and LÉ Orla.

Following a competitive process, officials from my Department have recently signed a contract for the removal of the ships from Cork Harbour for recycling in line with the EU Ship Recycling Regulation and relevant national regulations.

LÉ Éithne was recently moved from Haulbowline Naval Base to Doyle's Shipyard in Cork Harbour for preparatory works on the ship prior to removal for recycling.