An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-26
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Manus Boyle (FG), Nominated by the Taoiseach

I welcome the national maritime security strategy, which will address key risks that threaten Ireland's maritime domain. I understand that the Naval Service is considering a base in the north west. Donegal would be the perfect place for the base. We have ports like Killybegs, Burtonport, Rathmullan and Greencastle. Geographically, we are in the right place for once. Naval ships often use Killybegs and Rathmullan. Naturally, Killybegs would have the greatest potential as one of the deepest ports in Ireland. We have a great service industry that has grown up with the fishing industry for generations. It has looked after the Naval Service in the past and worked on its fleet. I ask the Deputy Leader to ask the Minister to strongly consider Donegal as a port for the Naval Service. It would be a great natural fit. We have four ports up there that would be capable of doing this. It would strengthen our hand in the North Sea and everything up there. For once, Donegal is in the right place for this. I ask the Deputy Leader to make a recommendation to the Minister that we will fight hard for this one.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:42+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-26