Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

168. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of Naval Service vessels which are operational and currently able to patrol Irish waters; his plans to put additional vessels in operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47666/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Naval Service currently has a fleet of eight Commissioned vessels. Four of the vessels are available for operations, including the three P60 class vessels which conduct patrols on a rotation basis. In addition to the three P60 class vessels, the L.É. Aoibhinn (P71) is also deployed on Maritime Defence and Security Operations (MDSO).

Extensive work is ongoing to oversee a turnaround in the level of operational activity by our Naval Service and to this end I instructed a team consisting senior military officers, led by our Chief of Staff, and my senior officials to conduct a detailed workshop with the Naval Service. I am advised that on foot of same, a Naval Service Regeneration Plan will be submitted to me shortly by the military authorities for my consideration.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

169. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the steps his Department is taking to ensure the state has adequate personnel to staff Naval service ships and adequately patrol Irish waters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47667/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Naval Service is the State's principal sea-going agency tasked with a variety of defence and other roles.

While the main daily tasking of the Naval Service is to provide a fishery protection service in accordance with our obligations as a member of the EU, it also carries out a number of other non-fishery related tasks including maritime surveillance, drug interdiction, search and rescue, maritime defence and security operations (MDSO). As such, any Naval Service patrol should be viewed as a multi-faceted activity.

The ongoing staffing challenges in the Naval Service are well documented and to address these a wide range of recruitment and retention initiatives have been introduced. These include an increase the maximum recruitment age to 39 for those roles that had a recruitment age below that, and to 50 for Direct Entry Officer specialists; an increase in the mandatory retirement age to 62; a doubling of the Naval Service Patrol Duty allowance after 10 days; the extension of the Naval Service Tax Credit for a further 5 years; the application of the Working Time Directive across the Defence Forces in January of this year, subject to certain exemptions; and the extension of the provision of private secondary healthcare to all members of the Permanent Defence Force. There has also been significant progress on pay with the most recent increase paid on 1 August 2025.

Recruitment is presently ongoing via a wide range of pathways including general service recruitment, re-entry schemes and eight Naval Service specific direct entry competitions. Applications for the Naval Service have been very strong in 2025 with the total number of applications received as of the 30 August exceeding the total number received in 2024. Inductions for 2025 have also been strong with 84 Naval Service inductions as of 30 August 2025 compared to 97 for all of 2024.

The Defence Forces have also partnered with recruitment specialists, CPL, as part of the Naval Service Recruitment Process Outsourcing to develop and support the recruitment function in the Naval Service and to develop a content and marketing plan. Signs in this regard for the year to date are positive with a growth in specialist recruitment. A total of four Direct Entry Naval Service Officers and seven Direct Entry Naval Service enlisted specialists have been recruited as at 30 August, which exceeds considerably the total number of specialists recruited by the Naval Service last year.

Whilst there are still undoubtedly challenges, significant progress has been made on a number of fronts and the allocation of record levels of expenditure to the Defence sector is illustrative of my intent in this regard.