Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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182. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence for an overview of all unmanned aircraft systems used by the Defence Forces; and his plans for future systems. [48263/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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A key priority for me as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the capabilities of the Defence Forces are maintained, developed and enhanced in order to ensure that the Defence Forces can carry out all of the roles assigned to it by Government.

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) or drones are deployed across the Defence Forces. These are small and medium sized systems which provide situational awareness, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities for deployed personnel in training and on operations both at home and overseas. These assets have no lethal offensive capabilities.

UAS are currently used by a number of branches within the Army such as by Ordnance Corps personnel to assist in the safe conduct of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) duties, as well as by Army Engineer personnel for activities such as Specialist Search and Clearance operations and training. The use of UAS serves to reduce risk exposure to personnel thereby increasing force protection and safety.

The Naval Service utilise UAS daily in the maritime domain for operations such as search and rescue, surveillance, fishery inspections, damage assessments, port and offshore installation security, and maritime pollution monitoring. The Naval Service have also used UAS to support overseas operations including during Operation Pontus in the Mediterranean.

The Air Corps utilise UAS for operator training, photography and videography, communications, infrastructure inspections, and support to air crash investigations.

Looking forward, as the Army’s existing UAS capability is reaching its end of life, market research is being conducted to assist in the procurement of replacement and enhanced capabilities. To that end, and in compliance with EU public procurement procedures, a Prior Information Notice was published in March 2025 to alert the market of the planned procurement and for market research purposes. This planned procurement remains at market research stage and no decisions have been taken on the final capability requirements for the replacement systems.

Furthermore, a specific recommendation in relation to the further development of the Defence Forces’ RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) capabilities was made by the Commission on the Defence Forces. The timeframe for implementation of this recommendation will be outlined in the updated Detailed Implementation Plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, which is due to be published shortly.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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183. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if the new ground based air defence (GBAD) system his Department is seeking to procure will be operated by the Air Corps or by the Artillery Corps; his views on the requirements the new GBAD will be required to have; and the timelines for same. [48264/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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A key priority for me as Minister for Defence is to ensure that the operational capacity of the Defence Forces is maintained and developed in line with the Government’s decision to move to a higher level of ambition, specifically LOA2, as defined by the Commission on the Defence Forces (CODF).

The CODF recommended the development of a primary radar capability to ensure that Ireland can maintain a complete ‘Recognised Air Picture’, and that this should be an immediate and top priority.

On foot of this, and following approval of the CODF ‘Detailed Implementation Plan’ in November 2023, a project team comprising senior civil and military personnel was established to progress a Military Radar Programme. This programme of work is ongoing and good progress has been made.

There are three elements to the Military Radar Programme: Land based Long Range Primary Radar; Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) systems, to include a Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) capability; and Maritime (ship-borne) Radar.

In relation to air defence capability, the current GBAD radar and missile systems are approaching obsolescence and, as a result, the development of a new ground based air defence system, including C-UAS) elements, is a key objective of the overall Military Radar Programme. In line with the CODF's recommendations, this will be compatible with and integrated into the Recognised Air Picture (RAP). The required GBAD capability will need to be deployable, scalable and fully interoperable to protect against any potential air threats.

Full delivery of the Programme will be complex; but has been prioritised with a target date of 2028 identified in the Detailed Implementation Plan. That being said, elements of this capability will be rolled out in phases, starting in 2026, towards full delivery by the end of 2028.

As part of the ongoing strategic force design, it would be premature for me to be definitive at this time in relation to the future operation of these and other capabilities being enhanced and developed as part of implementation of the CODF recommendations.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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184. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he is still committed to achieving all capital acquisitions within the Commission of the Defence Forces Implementation plan by 2028; and if he is satisfied the capital allocation 2026-2030 will allow him to do so. [48274/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Government approved the move to ‘Level of Ambition 2’ (LOA2), as set out in the capability framework devised by the Commission on the Defence Forces in July, 2022. This provided for a rise in the Defence budget to €1.5 billion, in 2022 prices, by 2028, as part of the annual Estimates process.

The revised NDP Capital allocation for the Defence Vote Group for the period 2026-2030 is €1,700 million. This represents an increase of €600 million (55%) on the previous baseline of €1,100 million. For 2026, the Defence capital allocation will increase by €85 million to €300 million.

This is a positive outcome and represents a clear demonstration of this Government’s strong commitment to support the transformation of the Defence Forces into a modern, agile military force while also being capable of responding to increasingly more complex global security threats and events.

Capital Investment in Defence primarily provides for the renewal, retention and acquisition of major defence equipment and infrastructural platforms – expenditure which enhances and supports military capabilities and therefore contributes to a more secure and resilient society.

The revised capital allocations will assist ongoing efforts at modernising and upgrading Defence equipment and built infrastructure platforms, and will enable targeted progression on key elements of Government commitments within LOA 2 (Enhanced Capability) objectives, as outlined in the Commission on the Defence Forces Report.

As outlined in parallel with the publication of revised multi-annual allocations, Defence is now re-evaluating all its strategic equipment and infrastructural priorities to align with the revised 2026 annual capital allocation provided - with specific details on sectoral investment plans to be published later this year.