Naval Service
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-07
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Brian Stanley (IND), Laois

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?

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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