Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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58. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the measures he will take to improve the Irish Naval Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49293/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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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.

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 in 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 31 August exceeding the total number received for all of 2024. A total of 2141 applications have been received in 2025 up to end August, while 1909 applications were received in 2024. Recruitment to date for 2025 has also been strong with 84 inductions to the Naval Service as of 31 August compared to 97 for all of 2024.

The Defence Forces are also presently collaborating 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 significant growth in specialist recruitment noted. As of the 31 August there have been 11 Direct Entry inductions into specialist roles in the Naval Service- the highest in five years. These comprise of 2 Marine Engineering Officers, 2 Operations Officers, 4 Engine Room Artificers, 1 Electrical Artificer, 1 Radio/Radar Technician and 1 Hull Artificer.

Notwithstanding the challenges being experienced, the Naval Service continues to conduct maritime surveillance and fisheries patrols in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone, and the Naval Operations Command Centre located at Naval Base Haulbowline continue to remotely monitor vessels in the Irish EEZ on a 24/7 basis.