Naval Service
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-09
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John Connolly (FF), Galway West

I commend the frankness of the report by the Commission on the Defence Forces. It noted the serious area and scale of responsibility that we have in "our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the scale of fishing activity in our waters, the number of aircraft crossing Irish controlled airspace, our growing seabased energy infrastructure, and the number of subsea communications cables and sea lines passing close to our coastline". There was a full and frank recognition:
...that a more comprehensive patrol programme [is required for that area and that this could] be facilitated by the establishment of a naval support base or bases, making use of existing port facilities at locations in the west ... which would allow for faster deployment and would facilitate replenishment of fuel, fresh food and water, and the removal of waste. The location of a support base on the west ... coast ... combined with double crewing of vessels, would facilitate ships remaining at sea for longer periods as they would no longer have to return to Haulbowline for replenishment and crew changeover.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:05+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-09