2026-05-07

75. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Defence the number of navy vessels the Naval Service can now staff and put to sea; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33199/26]

I ask for the number of naval vessels that are in service and that we can staff and safely put to sea. As the Minister knows, in recent years that has been down to one or two at times. I am just looking for the current level of ability or capacity there.

The Naval Service currently has a fleet of eight commissioned vessels. These eight vessels consist of two P50 class large patrol vessels, four P60 class offshore patrol vessels and two P70 inshore patrol vessels. I am advised by the military authorities that there are four vessels available for operations on a rotation basis. This rotation takes account of maintenance, crew training and rest periods. The strength of the Naval Service, as of 31 March 2026, was 833 personnel out of an establishment of 1,094 personnel. The military authorities have advised that the total number of personnel currently required to crew all vessels is 294. It should be noted that this figure is currently under review in the context of the overall force design process currently in progress, with a view to enhanced capabilities under level of ambition 2. Challenges with ships to sea have been well documented in recent years. In 2025 we saw the benefit of a number of initiatives which have been introduced in recent years, such as the doubling of patrol duty allowance payable. As a result of these initiatives, we have seen the number of patrol days completed by the Naval Service in 2025 increase by over 35% on the outputs from the previous year, so quite a significant increase. I reassure the Deputy that the regeneration of the Naval Service is one of my priorities as Minister for Defence. It is also, of course, a priority for the Defence Forces. This reflects the commitment in the programme for Government. It is reinforced in the actions required under the strategic framework to 2026, which was published in February of this year. To that end, I have had detailed discussions with the Chief of Staff on the need to have a regeneration report submitted on the Naval Service, and work is under way on that. The Defence Forces, in conjunction with senior officials in my Department, are working to have the report, and an action plan against which progress will be able to be measured, delivered to me as soon as possible. The joint actions of the Defence Forces provide a vital foundation for the new strategy. I am determined to strengthen our Defence Forces through investing in their personnel and capabilities in order that they can continue to protect and monitor our maritime domain against new and evolving threats.

I thank the Minister for her reply. Of course, the maritime area that has to be protected and that comes within our jurisdiction is massive. From her reply, I take it that there are four vessels that are seaworthy and available, as she said, at any one time. In relation to the rotation, are there some ships within that fleet of eight that are not seaworthy at all? The Minister might clarify that when she comes back. If I heard her right, I think she said that there are 833 staff. What are the numbers that were recruited in 2025, what were the numbers that retired and what is the target? They are the three key figures: the target, the numbers that have been recruited and the numbers that have retired or that have left the Naval Service. I know there has been recruitment to improve the capacity, and I welcome that. It is important we have it to protect our cables. The fact that we are a neutral country, which the Minister admitted in answer to a previous question, does not impede us in any way from increasing the capacity of our navy and having sensible levels of co-operation with neighbouring countries and other European countries.

Our overall strength, as of 31 March, was 833 personnel. We have an establishment or a target figure of 1,094. Obviously, we want to reach that, and we want to go beyond it if we are looking at level of ambition 2 and beyond. While I do not have the exact figures to hand for last year, as of 31 March this year a total of 39 personnel have been inducted, but that is just within the first three months. As I mentioned, of the 7,000 who have applied this year, about 23%, I believe, are applications to the Naval Service, so quite a large number are still applying. Thirty-nine have been inducted up until 31 March this year. In terms of the overall vessels and how they operate, it is not physically or logistically possible for all our Naval Service vessels to be at sea simultaneously. That is because they operate on a rotation basis. Furthermore, I refer to maintaining safe manning levels and preventing personnel burnout. That is why we want to increase our numbers, in order that we can increase our overall capacity. Again, I stress, through the ships we have out, and with the support of the Air Corps, we are able to cover and to monitor with technology and equipment our EEZ 24-7. Obviously, we want greater capabilities on top of that.

In relation to the eight vessels, there are four at sea at any one time. I understand there is rotation and that they cannot all be at sea at any one time. Is it the case that there are one or two of those ships that are not seaworthy and that are permanently docked at any time? I ask the Minister to clarify that. That is the question I am asking. Of course, we have to protect our undersea cables. As a result of the agreement signed with France, the Celtic interconnector will now be coming on stream. The import of drugs also continues to present a challenge. The navy and other arms of the State have had some notable successes in that regard. I welcome the target of 1,094 personnel but only 39 were inducted in the first three months of the year. That is a very low number considering the huge number of applications. Huge numbers of people are applying but the Minister said that 39 have been inducted, which is a very small number. Will the Minister clarify that point regarding the ships?

In relation to our ships, at any given time, something might arise resulting in a ship requiring unscheduled maintenance but, the vast majority of the time, it is a case of scheduled maintenance. Ships come to a certain point in their lifetime and go in for scheduled maintenance. It obviously takes some time to go through that process. That is why the ships operate on a rotation. The LÉ Aoibhinn is a new ship that we hope to be ready and commissioned in the third quarter of this year. Again, it is about making sure that scheduled maintenance happens as it is supposed to. Where issues arise and ships need to be taken in for maintenance as the result of unforeseen circumstances, we obviously need to respond as quickly as possible. I again stress that the physical presence of our navy ships is complemented by intelligence-gathering carried out by naval operations 24-7, 365 days a year, at the command centre in Haulbowline. That involves remote monitoring. In addition, Air Corps aircraft are equipped with state-of-the-art communications and surveillance equipment. To the Deputy's point, these work very closely with An Garda Síochána, Revenue and customs. We recently saw a massive drugs haul involving the MV Matthew. That was the result of all of our agencies working together with all of the resources we have.