LAST UPDATE | 10 hrs ago

A SOUTH DUBLIN town has moved a step closer to having a naval base as the Government has announced discussions to base the navy’s inshore patrol vessels in Dun Laoghaire harbour.

The announcement was made this morning by Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin, that he has instructed officials to enter into discussions with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to secure berthage space in Dún Laoghaire harbour.

The LÉ Aoibhinn is the first of the two craft, bought from New Zealand, to be operational and a second ship is planned to go to sea next year. 

The plan for the two vessels is to focus a lot of the patrols on the east coast and Dún laoghaire has been selected as the best location.

As it stands the Irish Defence Forces has some facilities in the town but there has also been a strong campaign by Minister for State Jennifer Carroll-MacNeill for a naval base to be placed there.

A damning study, The Report of the Commission on Defence Forces, had exposed a number of key weaknesses in the Naval Service’s ability to protect called for the development of an East Coast base for the Naval Service.

The Inshore Patrol Vessels (IPV) are much smaller and are designed to operate much closer to shore which would give the Irish Navy an advantage dealing with some operations. 

The IPVs are stationed at the Naval Base in Haulbowline, in Cork Harbour but the plan is to develop a Forward Operating Base on the East Coast.

The Department of Defence will engage with the County Council to agree on terms for the use of Carlisle Pier over the short term.

A detailed business case is currently being developed by the Defence Forces for the longer term Naval Service presence on the East Coast.

The IPV’s are tasked with a variety of roles, from fishery protection to maritime surveillance, and other Defence duties.

The Naval Service has had a difficult number of years, with extensive reports both in the media and in speeches in the Dáil that staffing numbers have plummeted, that the service was only able to put one ship out on patrol at a time and detailing an ongoing crisis in retaining highly trained specialists.

In an interview with the head of Naval Operations Captain Darragh Kirwan, the plan was revealed for the IPVs to focus on patrols closer to shore and particularly along the East coast. 

This would then free up the larger P60 patrol ships to focus on operations far out to sea in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone which stretches some 260 nautical miles into the Atlantic.