Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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108.To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if any of the Naval Service vessels currently have helicopter landing capabilities. [25573/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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My priority as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the operational capability of the Defence Forces, including the Naval Service, is maintained and developed. This is to enable the Defence Forces to carry out the roles assigned by Government. Equipment priorities for the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service are considered in the context of the established capability development and Equipment Development Planning (EDP) processes.

Further additions to the EDP are kept under consideration, including in the context of the Government’s decision to move to Level of Ambition 2 (LOA2), in light of specific recommendations made in the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces.

The Commission of the Defence Forces specifically recommended an accelerated programme of naval vessel replacement, to ensure a balanced fleet of nine modern ships is reached by early in the next decade. This recommendation has been accepted in principle by Government.

The former Naval Service flagship, LÉ Eithne was the only vessel in the fleet with a capability for helicopter operations. The Deputy will be aware that LÉ Eithne has been decommissioned and a process to recycle the vessel, in an environmental manner in line with Government and EU policy, is currently underway.

Marine Advisors have been appointed to support the procurement of a multi-role vessel (MRV) to replace LÉ Eithne. Work is currently underway that will inform next steps