Naval Service
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-07
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Helen McEntee (FG), Meath East

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.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-07/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-07