Thomas Byrne
Meath East · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“We are very proud of the work they do in what are often very dangerous circumstances. Let us be 100% clear: our troops will only ever do peacekeeping, peace enforcement or conflict prevention in accordance with the principles of the UN Charter and, of course, as with every action of this Government, in accordance with the Constitution.”
“To be clear on what our troops will be doing, they will be doing peacekeeping, peace enforcement and conflict prevention. That is what the law says; not what the Deputy imagines it to be. We are bound by our Constitution and international law. The legislation changes nothing in that regard.”
“We are bound by international law. We are bound by international law since our Constitution came into force and we continue to be bound by international law and always will be, no matter what happens to this legislation. International law governs what we do as a Government.”
“I propose to take Questions Nos. 125, 140, 157 and 185 together. I am taking this question on behalf of the Minister. A commitment to reform what is known as the triple lock was set out in the programme for Government.”
“-----in accordance with UN principles and, of course, in accordance with our own Constitution, which commits us to peace and friendly relations among nations. The triple lock is a statutory mechanism.”
“Switzerland, the classical neutral country that is not even a member of the European Union and will never join the European Union, it is so neutral and independent, accepts UN, EU and OSCE mandates. I understand the situation is similar in Austria, which is another neutral country. By the way, it is also similar in Germany.”
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“One of the conditions of membership of the European Union when we joined was the equal pay directive. We had to ensure there was equal pay between men and women. The younger people listening might be a bit surprised that this was the case. It was not just in Ireland but across many European countries. Who was in charge of driving that agenda when we joined the European Economic Community? It was a Clare man, Patrick Hillery. He was the first Irish Commissioner - the Commissioner for Social Affairs. Not only did he implement what Ireland had to do, but he drove this agenda across Europe. I always say we are the European Union, not somebody in Brussels telling us what to do. In that case, it was a Commissioner from Clare, a former foreign Minister of this country, who was driving this important agenda right across the European Union.”
“Ireland will continue to work with partners and institutions alike to address challenges to the rule of law, including democratic backsliding, which is a growing challenge in parts of the European Union. Few policies embody the values of the EU more than enlargement. Following Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, securing EU membership for individual candidates has re-emerged as the strongest EU foreign policy tool at our disposal to ensure peace and prosperity across our Continent. Ireland was part of the first enlargement of what was then called the European Economic Community in 1973. We have seen at first hand how Ireland has been transformed through our membership of the European Union. I always give this example when I go to schools.”
“A strong society is rooted in strong values. The rules-based international order, on which our collective security and prosperity depend, is increasingly under challenge. The security environment in Europe has been transformed by Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, while the broader international context facing us has never been more challenging. Against this backdrop, we will ensure that the EU strengthens its role as a principled global actor that supports democracy and human rights, multilateralism and the international legal order with the United Nations at its heart. We are strong advocates for the founding values of the European Union. What is the European Union all about? It is about human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and respect for human rights.”
“Competitiveness is an increasingly critical area of focus for the European Union. Ireland welcomed the productive discussions that took place recently on this topic during the meeting of EU leaders. As we approach our Presidency this year, we have an important opportunity to influence the competitiveness agenda. We will continue to make progress on delivering the full potential of the Single Market, and the simplification agenda. We will continue to support the EU's competitiveness agenda, the proposals from the Draghi and Letta reports, the competitiveness compass, and the Single Market strategy. This is about ensuring jobs and the economic future for all of our people in this country and across the European Union. Values are a shared European foundation and will always be at the heart of the EU project.”
“Overall, our Presidency policy programme will reflect the work that needs to be done to address the common challenges we face across the Union. We believe that a successful EU Presidency is particularly important amidst a complex geopolitical and economic background in Europe. In our Presidency, we want to deliver an ambitious policy programme and move the EU's legislative and policy agenda forward in an effective manner. Work on the definition of our priorities is focusing on three broad pillars, reflecting the pillars of the strategic agenda: competitiveness, values and security. We expect the agenda of the Council in 2026 to have a strong focus on competitiveness, the strengthening of the Single Market, security and defence, European Union enlargement, and safeguarding our shared values.”
“It is very important to note that, during the Presidency, it is not Ireland as such that decides what happens. Ireland must act impartially and seek to move the agenda of the member states forward. We need to accommodate the views and perspectives of all member states. Since my appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs, I have met counterparts from across EU member states, and EU candidate countries, to discuss Ireland's Presidency. In fact, this morning I met the Polish ambassador and his team. It is clear from my meetings that there are very high expectations across Europe for our Presidency of the European Union. We will work hard to meet those expectations. Work is progressing across the Government to develop our EU Presidency priorities and policy programme.”
“I was in the airport on Monday morning going to Cyprus when I got a text message saying that the meeting had been cancelled due to drone attacks on British bases on the island of Cyprus. It is extraordinary what can happen. Bertie Ahern gave me a good example of this as well. In 1990, Ireland had the Presidency and he was Minister for Finance. He said that all through 1989 they did a lot of planning for the Presidency and he said "Then the wall fell" in the way Bertie would say it. What he meant of course was that the Berlin Wall had fallen in November 1989. That totally changed our Presidency. In fact, what happened in 1990 was that plans for the reunification of Germany were approved at the European Council in Dublin. We can expect the unexpected and try to do our best.”
“Through my role in chairing the interdepartmental group co-ordinating preparations for our Presidency, I can say that good progress has been made across all aspects of our planning work. My official, Mark Hanniffy, is here from the Department. I pay tribute to the Department of foreign affairs and its team because not only is this a job for them, but it is a matter of pride for them to do a good job. That goes for all civil servants and for the Government, too. Having praised all the work that has been done, it is a fact that we have a lot to do over the coming months to make sure that we can deliver a successful Presidency. Recent events during the current Cypriot EU Presidency have shown us that we must also expect the unexpected as best we can.”
“The Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, was busy today because not only was the school here on his behalf, but Councillor Cronin and his colleagues were meeting him as well. In less than four months' time, on 1 July 2026, Ireland will take on the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the eighth time. As the Taoiseach has made clear, our EU Presidency will be "a Presidency defined by action". The Government has set out a clear commitment to deliver a successful EU Presidency in 2026. By working with our partners across Europe, we can deliver an effective EU Presidency and ensure that Ireland's position, influence and reputation in the EU are both maintained and enhanced.”
“The €800 billion in relation to spending on defence includes €650 billion of an easement of EU rules on borrowing by member states. That is borrowing by member states in breach, you might say, of the traditional borrowing rules. The EU has allowed them to do this for defence. The other €150 billion is a loan, effectively, to member states that they have to pay back. The €800 billion figure is not a reflection of anything that the EU is spending. The EU is not a military alliance. The member states are asking the EU to help them to defend themselves and to inform their own defence policies.”
“Following the Dáil approval of the Supplementary Estimate that I brought to the committee, which provided for the accelerated procurement of C-UAS capabilities, contractual arrangements have been put in place to enable delivery of these capabilities during the first half of this year. In line with these arrangements, training of military personnel is already under way and the further roll-out of the required capabilities will continue to be accelerated this year. There is a lot happening in this space. I suggest that a lot has to happen. I will address one further point which was raised by Senator Higgins. This figure of €800 billion, which unfortunately is in the Oireachtas finance committee report, is not an accurate figure.”
“To be clear, there are no officials telling people what to do. This is a political decision, a Government decision. However, the position of the Department is that the request must be addressed within the parameters of public pay policy with local bargaining available as an option to address sector-specific claims. When the Minister met with the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, recently, it raised the issue with her and the Minister agreed to give further consideration to that. RACO will continue to engage with the Department and the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation. Senator Gallagher asked about our counter-unmanned-drone system, or C-UAS, capabilities.”
“Improvements were made to pay following the implementation of a number of pay-related recommendations from the Commission on the Defence Forces. Recruit pay, for example, on completion of training, which takes about 24 weeks, starts at €42,500 in year 1. Following this month's public sector pay increases, the starting salary for a lieutenant, which is the entry rank for a graduate cadet on commissioning, is €51,748. For a second lieutenant, which is the entry rank for a school leaver cadet on commissioning, it is €46,359 while that person is in full-time education. Senator Gallagher raised the issue of cadet pay. I am aware that a business case for increasing cadet pay was received by the Department and the matter was raised with the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.”
“Yes, we are bound by Article 29 of the Constitution, which talks about "the ideal of peace". It is literally written into the law of this land that we are bound by peace and the objective of "friendly co-operation amongst nations". That is what we do. However, we can do that by having permission from our Dáil and permission from our Government to send troops to keep the peace. At the same time, we can work night and day to build up our Defence Forces and build up our capabilities so that we can protect the State and protect our people from the various threats we face. I think people are becoming more and more aware of those threats. Recruitment is improving. We have had significant increases in the numbers of people applying. We have also had significant increases in the retention rate, which is very important.”
“We are unique among neutral countries in having this requirement. They want their governments and their parliaments to have these decisions. Generally speaking, people go with UN missions or EU missions or OSCE missions. It is very common for neutral countries in Europe to take part in those various missions with or without a formal resolution of the UN Security Council. We have to get real about this. We have to protect our own sovereignty. We have to make our own decisions. I welcome this debate. I look forward to further discussions. We want to maintain our proud tradition of peacekeeping but we want to secure the country as well. We have an obligation - the Government and the Dáil are acutely conscious of this - to protect our citizens and protect our territory. That is the fundamental role.”
“However, it would still continue in operation as an EU mission. The work that Senator Higgins wants more of, which is happening to some extent notwithstanding it is not within the direct terms of reference, is part of a mission that we would just have to leave, and say goodbye to, because of this legislation. I do not think it is correct to talk about the role of the General Assembly in uniting for peace without also looking at the Security Council, which is a binding institution. It binds countries under international law; the General Assembly does not. In any event, if you were to look for some resolution of the General Assembly, as has been proposed by Sinn Féin, you would have to canvass all the members of the General Assembly, including Israel and other countries that have been criticised in the House today. We need to remove this.”
“While the Senator is correct when she talks about the humanitarian functions not being prioritised, that mission is complying with an EU decision and a UN Security Council mandate to prevent weapons coming in from Libya. However, it carries out tremendous humanitarian work on the Mediterranean to this day. I am very proud of the Irish men and women who take part in Operation Irini, but they were not able to take part until that mission got a UN Security Council mandate even though it was operational as an EU mission at the time. Indeed, when I was there last year certainly, there was considerable doubt as to whether the mission would be continued. It has been continued so far, not always for one year. The day the UN Security Council mandate is lost to that mission is the day we leave it automatically under current legislation.”
“Sinn Féin gave a very stout defence of Russia's apparent lack of vetoes over the past couple of years but we have not seen any new peace missions agreed by the UN Security Council either. We have seen the effective ending of UNIFIL in Lebanon by one member of the UN Security Council. That is a fact. That is the contribution that Ireland is most famous for. It was ended by one country, one member of the UN Security Council. I listened to Senator Higgins when she gave the example of Operation Sophia, which is now called Operation Irini, and I did not disagree with what she said. However, we were prevented from joining that operation for one year because it started as an EU mission and did not have a UN Security Council mandate. We actually could not join that operation until it got a UN Security Council mandate, about a year later.”
“Crucially, we are acting to close those capability gaps. There is investment and we are continuing to invest and to put in place state-of-the-art systems for conducting the monitoring and surveillance activities in the air, on the surface and below the sea as well. The triple lock has been a big feature of the debate today. In reforming the triple lock, the Government is delivering on a programme for Government commitment. That was agreed following the 2024 election. It was in our manifesto and the mandate was given by the electorate. The triple lock is quite simply no longer fit for purpose. It is not sustainable for us to continue to outsource the approval process for the overseas deployment of our own military personnel to members of the UN Security Council.”
“One of the key defence priorities of the Government is to ensure the operational capacity of the Defence Forces is maintained and developed in line with the decision to move to level of ambition 2, LOA 2, as defined in the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. We will look at the issue of radar, primary radar, the ground-based air-defence systems and of course the maritime radar. The work is ongoing. This is a major project for us. However, it is a foundational project for us to allow us to have the capacity to build on that. A contract has been awarded for sonar to monitor subsea activities. This is really important. References were made to the maritime strategy, which was launched today and has been long promised. There are capability gaps. We have never made any bones about that. We absolutely acknowledge them.”
“From my meetings with ministerial counterparts across Europe and my observation of the scene, Ireland is not immune to threats by bad actors, nor are we alone in battling them. During the recent Danish Presidency, we saw the temporary closure of Copenhagen Airport due to incursions of its airspace. In Lithuania, Vilnius Airport was shut partially because of the incursion of balloons from Belarus. This is happening all the time in highly militarised countries, in some respects. Lithuania is certainly one such country. In advance of our Presidency, the Government has prioritised the delivery of counter unmanned aerial systems capabilities for the Defence Forces. We secured a Supplementary Estimate to accelerate that.”
“A total of 54 of the 130 recommendations have been completed. There is more to do. There is no question about that. It is important that there be parliamentary scrutiny and oversight to keep the pressure on. I have confidence that the structures put in place will aid the successful delivery of the transformation of our Defence Forces which, as Senators have said, is badly needed. Capital funding has increased significantly and it will increase further. As Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs and in the Department of Defence, I am acutely conscious of the work under way in preparation for the forthcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU. Questions have understandably been raised about the security aspects of the Presidency.”
“I may not take all my time. Hopefully, I can answer many of the questions that have been raised. I thank Senators not only for their contributions and insights, but for having an ongoing focus on issues of security and defence. It is important. I acknowledge references made in different guises to the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission on the Defence Forces. The security landscape has changed significantly in this country since this report was published. Yesterday, we marked the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. I trust that all Members will join me in condemning the brutal and clearly illegal actions of Russia and expressing total solidarity with Ukraine. Against the backdrop of the global instability arising from the war in Ukraine and elsewhere, we have made some progress.”
“I assure the Deputy that this Government is aware of the challenges present across all regional health areas and that the Department is working alongside the HSE to address these challenges and increase the provision of services, including residential services of the various types that have been mentioned in this debate.”
“In 2026, we are supporting another 199 residential supports for people with disabilities. While the strategy, policy direction and overall allocation are a matter for the Minister, funding allocations to regions and individual service providers at a local level is an operational matter for the HSE. The Department, in conjunction with the HSE, will always strive to ensure disability services are delivered in an equitable manner across all regional health areas as effectively as possible to ensure maximum benefit for those who require services.”
“Once again, I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which is a priority for the Government. The Government recognises that there is more to do to improve the lived experience of those with a disability. The increase in the disability budget for 2026 further demonstrates the multiple commitments made in the programme for Government commitment to improving the lives of people with disabilities and making a difference. The ambition of this Government is to bring about a step change in services for people with a disability in Ireland and we are committed to the expansion and reform of disability services in order to maximise people’s independence and support them to live ordinary lives in ordinary places like everybody else does. This is reflected in the very significant investment being made in specialist services recently.”
“I will gladly ask the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, who cannot be here, to send that exact information to all the Deputies and representatives in Fingal. That is a reasonable request but I just do not have it to hand.”
“I am informed that HSE Dublin and north east provides and funds a range of services and supports for people with disabilities, including those residing in Dublin Fingal West. Supports include day services, respite services, residential services, home support and personal assistance. I assure the Deputy that HSE Dublin and north east continuously works to improve the availability of supports to individuals in the area, including the residents of her constituency. I reiterate the importance of ensuring we continue to support people with disabilities to live meaningful and fulfilling lives, with a person-centred approach throughout the broad spectrum of services provided. I do not know if I should be declaring an interest because my wife is a nurse manager in this very area, Fingal. I do not know if I am meant to declare that or not.”
“Local housing and disability steering groups and regional forums have been established to progress the implementation of the national housing strategy for disabled people and these forums facilitate collaborative working between local authorities, the HSE, approved housing bodies, AHBs, and voluntary service providers. The Department of Children, Disability and Equality continues to engage with the HSE to explore various ways of responding to demand while appropriately managing the significant levels of funding provided. Dedicated housing co-ordinators have been appointed to assist with placement planning and identifying housing options for people with all levels of disability.”
“In addressing these challenges – and, of course, opportunities, given that increasing life expectancy is an opportunity rather than a challenge - the Department of Children, Disability and Equality is engaging with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, housing authorities and the HSE to explore means of responding to the need for additional capacity, which can assist forward planning and cost-effective placements. The national housing strategy 2022 to 2027 places responsibility for the provision of housing with the Department of housing, working in conjunction with the HSE to provide supports related to individual care needs. The HSE and local authorities are working together to map the need and develop and advance plans for delivering housing to people with disabilities.”
“This includes 72 new planned placements and 80 new unplanned urgent placements, a total of 152 new placements, as outlined in the service plan for 2026. From 2020 to 2025, 955 new residential places were provided to people with disabilities, which has undoubtedly had an impact in Dublin Fingal West. During 2025 alone, HSE Dublin and north east, which includes the Deputy’s constituency in north Dublin, provided 2,046 residential places for people with a disability, including the addition of 55 new placements. The Government acknowledges that there is significant demand for specialist disability services across all regional health areas nationally. The increased demographics of people living with a disability, coupled with increases in life expectancy and changing needs, have all had a significant impact.”
“Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Teachta as ucht an t-ábhar seo. Increasing the provision of disability specialist residential services is a key Government priority and there has been significant investment in residential services over the course of the last number of years. The overall budget increase in recent years, from €1.7 billion at the close of 2017 to almost to €3.8 billion in 2026, reflects the programme for Government commitment to investing in improving the lives of people with disabilities. In addition to the ongoing funding and lifetime commitment to residential placements for almost 9,000 current residents, €65 million has been allocated to disability residential services in budget 2026 for new developments. That includes €40 million of funding that will provide in the region of 199 residential placements.”
“There is a significant RDF awareness campaign being developed, as I said, to raise public awareness. I would certainly love if Members of the Oireachtas were involved in spread the message. I suggest the Department make sure that Oireachtas Members are fully up to speed with the efforts being made by the Department and the military to enhance recruitment to the Reserve Defence Force. We can then encourage our constituents to take up these very important roles.”
“Recruitment has increased substantially, particularly in 2024. It slowed down in 2025 but the numbers were substantially higher than they were 2023. The numbers will be boosted by the number of applicants who were undertaking module 1 pre-induction training at the end of last year. Work has been done and numbers have gone up. That is very important. There is a huge effort under way to attract more people into the Reserve Defence Forces, such as increasing the upper retirement age and mandatory retirement age. There is the implementation of a managed induction process, whereby a recruitment liaison officer maintains contact with applicants throughout the induction process to help facilitate an expeditious and efficient recruitment process. There is an on-boarding process which enables candidates to undergo pre-attestation recruit training.”
“The regeneration plan was published in July 2024 and has four main priorities: recruitment and retention: resourcing; training; and integration and deployment. In relation to specific issues with Reserve Defence Force activities that attract payments, conditions under which reservists are paid for certain activities are set out in the Defence Force regulations. In 2023, a letter of instruction was issued that was not consistent with the regulations and items have been replaced with an updated guidance note. The office of Reserve affairs has prepared a paper for the Defence Forces board about reserve activities that should attract a payment. The office has advised that the Defence Forces board is considering the content of the paper and the regulatory underpinnings of paid activities.”
“This will be co-ordinated across all media, including TV and radio advertisements, to raise the public's awareness of the opportunities available in the Reserve Defence Force. Another area of work under way is the substantial expansion in the Reserve Defence Force budget, which continues to increase in pace with the enhanced role of the Reserve Defence Force. To illustrate this, the budget allocation in 2025 was €3.5 million and the Government has further increased it to €4.5 million for 2026.”
“One of the four operational objectives of the plan is to improve the induction process, with the aim of achieving an effective strength of 80% by 2028. Recruitment increased substantially in 2024 and continues to gain momentum, with approximately 300 applicants in pre-induction training at the end of 2025. This growth will be reflected in the 2026 strength figures. Implementation of the regeneration plan is being monitored to address any blockages arising and to ensure progress across the actions. Other areas of work under way in the Reserve Defence Force sphere include a new Reserve Defence Force recruitment system, which will result in a more streamlined and user-friendly process for applicants and a significant RDF advertising awareness campaign is in the final stages of development.”
“I thank the Deputy for the question. I will start by recognising the importance of the Reserve Defence Force to the State. In the past few years, we have witnessed a revitalisation of the Reserve. The strength of the Reserve Defence Force, as of the end of 2025, was 204 first-line Reserve personnel and 1,612 second-line Reserve personnel, which is comprised of 1,481 Army Reserve personnel and 131 Naval Service Reserve personnel. The priority of Government is the modernisation of our Defence Forces and revitalising our Reserve Defence Force is a key part of this transformation. In that context, the Reserve Defence Force regeneration plan, published in July 2024, contains 27 actions across four objectives, namely, recruit and retain; resource; train and educate; and integrate and deploy.”
“There are many paragraphs in Article 3 of the protocol to the Lisbon treaty that discuss our neutrality policy and describe it, and this does not impact on it in any way.”
“The reason we have a constitutional amendment is if we want to change the Constitution. We are not changing the Constitution, it is simply changing legislation. What was agreed at Lisbon is still in the Constitution by virtue of the protocol to the Lisbon treaty. This does not affect it in any way. I am quite sure that whatever referendum the Government would put forward on Europe or defence, Sinn Féin would oppose it as it has opposed every one of them over the years, but what was agreed by the people in the Lisbon treaty is still there. It is still in the Lisbon treaty and, therefore, it is still in our Constitution. This is a change in legislation and a change in procedures as to how we decide and make our own decisions to send troops abroad. It is not a change in our neutrality policy and it does not affect anything.”
“We have to make the decisions here as to what we do in terms of peace and security and the work our people do. I am very confident that we can do this. It does not affect neutrality. What was agreed in the Nice and Lisbon treaties in terms of neutrality has not changed and is not changing. In fact, it cannot be changed without a referendum of the people. That does not affect this in any way whatsoever.”
“We want to make sure our Defence Forces can, first of all, engage in their primary function, which is the protection of the security of the State and, when called upon, to go abroad to serve as peacekeepers, as they have honourably done. Removing the triple lock will not change this in any way. There are many neutral countries and I do not think any of them have as restrictive a law as we do. I agree with Deputy Duncan Smith who said we must protect our neutrality. I was in Switzerland last week when the subject of neutrality was very strong on the agenda. They speak about an armed neutrality. Deputy Gibney spoke about non-militarism or antimilitarism with regard to Trinity College students. We have to protect our neutrality and build up our Defence Forces.”
“We will send them in accordance with UN law, human rights law and the honourable tradition that we have, but we will not continue in a situation where individual countries can veto our decisions of the Dáil. I should say as well that there is no suggestion that this removes our neutrality in any way whatsoever. Nothing changes the protocol to the Lisbon treaty. There is nothing in the legislation that can or will affect the protocols of the Lisbon treaty on neutrality.”
“In fact, as the Minister said, we have seen UNIFIL end because of, essentially, one member of the Security Council. It is not possible either to go to the General Assembly. What is being suggested regarding the General Assembly cannot happen because it does not have responsibility for international peace and security. In any event, what Deputy Crowe is asking for is not just to give a veto to five members of the Security Council but to canvass every country on earth, including Israel and other countries, on whether Ireland can send peacekeeping troops into areas where they are required. This is something that really is untenable. We are a neutral country. We send peacekeepers.”
“I will answer this one on behalf of the Minister. As the Minister has already set out, the defence (amendment) Bill is included in the Government legislative programme for priority publication. There are also some other amendments to the Defence Acts in the legislation. What the triple lock legislation or the defence (amendment) Bill will do is remove the requirement for the UN Security Council mandate because, quite frankly, it is almost impossible to get one and we do not know what the UN Security Council will say in terms of renewing peacekeeping mandates. Effectively, by keeping this in place, we allow members of the Security Council a veto. There are five permanent members, and each of them has a veto. That is Russia, China, France, the UK and the USA. They can veto or use the threat of a veto.”
“A detailed business case would be required from the Defence Forces regarding a longer term Naval Service presence on the east coast. I anticipate that the awaited regeneration report will help in working this up in the coming months. Any decision on the location of a forward operating base would ultimately be a matter for the Government to make.”
“Thankfully, there was no more serious damage. The damage was minor in nature. The Naval Service remains satisfied that Carlisle Pier meets its needs. It has pointed out that the berth has recently been refitted with a modern fendering system, which should add to our ships' ability to withstand damaging impacts. In relation to the potential use of Carlisle Pier as the new forward operating base, the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces calls for the development of an east coast base for the Naval Service. Officials are in discussions with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to secure berthing space in Dún Laoghaire Harbour. This is viewed as an interim arrangement pending the selection and development of a permanent forward operating base.”
“The Deputy asked specifically about the LÉ Gobnait . That ship is scheduled to enter service in the third quarter of this year. We acknowledge that it would have been preferable to have it in service much sooner. It is the case, however, that the readiness and capability of and the activities carried out by the Naval Service have increased substantially over the past year. Work in that regard is going to continue. The Government has acknowledged that we have come from a low base of capabilities and that some capabilities were allowed to fall into abeyance over a period. That is why the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces was very important in terms of setting forth a plan for how we get from not having sufficient protection for our State and not having sufficient resources for our Defence Forces, to having what we need.”
“The naval authorities remain satisfied that the berth at Carlisle Pier is suitable for current needs. The Deputy might wish to note that the Department is at an advanced stage of concluding the licensing arrangements with the county council in relation to the use of Carlisle Pier for the purposes of berthing the two inshore patrol vessels whose primary function will be to patrol the east coast. In relation to the location of any future permanent forward operating base on the east coast, this has not yet been determined. Any consideration of the matter will be dependent on the recommendations emanating from the regeneration report.”
“The LÉ Aoibhinn is due to return to Haulbowline to enter the dry dock for scheduled maintenance next week, where the necessary repairs to the ship will be made. I am advised that no days were lost as a result of this weather-related incident. The LÉ Gobnait is scheduled to enter service in the third quarter of this year. I readily acknowledge that it would have been preferable to have this vessel in service much sooner. While we are all aware of the challenges the Naval Service has faced in recent years, the indications are that we are turning the dial in relation to the service as a result of increased recruitment and significant investment in capability and physical infrastructure. As a result of these initiatives, the number of patrol days completed by the Naval Service in 2025 reached 580, which is a 35% increase on 2024.”