THE Government's financial package for expanding the Naval Service fleet is expected to be about £30 million, the Minister for Defence and the Marine has said.
At least 50 per cent of the funding should come from the EU, Mr Sean Barrett said.
Speaking before the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers conference in Galway, which he could not attend yesterday due to the Dail confidence debate, the Minister said he also favoured new management structures for the Naval Service and Air Corps, and automatic entitlement to recruit when numbers fell below an agreed strength.
The Government is inviting tenders for a 60 to 85 metre offshore vessel and several 50 to 65 metre in-shore vessels.
Maximum EU funding will be 65 per cent and Ireland has already applied for a slice of a £160 million capital fund for fisheries protection and surveillance, Mr Barrett said.
"It's my desire to get as many extra ships as we can but we'll have to examine the offers within the budgetary constraints," he said.
The number of ships would also depend on the functions they were required to perform, he added, as the EU would only provide funding for fisheries surveillance.
Fisheries protection would not be contracted out nor would there be "civilianisation" of the Naval Service the Minister emphasised.
He expects to receive the Price Waterhouse consultancy reports on it and the Air Corps by the end of this month.
Naval Service strength is expected to fall below 1,000 this week but the Minister said there was "far too much focus on numbers", referring to RACO's contention that the service cannot operate efficiently because of crew shortages.
A fresh look at management might result in a more efficient effective operation, Mr Barrett said.
"No one is able to tell me definitively how many people are required to put the current fleet of seven ships to sea," he said. He hoped the consultancy report would help to determine this.
It was in the interest of the Naval Service, which wants more autonomy from the Army, to remain within the Defence Force structure, the Minister said.
But people joined it primarily to go to sea rather than to "push a pen" and those skills should be used more effectively. He favoured automatic entitlement for the Naval Service to recruit when numbers fell below an established required strength.
Naval Service personnel were entitled to the same leave as their colleagues in the Defence Forces, the Minister continued. There is a two-year rotation at sea and shore but this might be reduced if a more flexible arrangement allowed crew at sea for three weeks to have two weeks leave, he said.
The Minister envisaged a decision on extra ships within three to six months, which would tie in with the Price Waterhouse consultancy study. On RACO's call for a memorandum of understanding between the Naval Service and its principal customer, the Department of the Marine, the Minister said this was not something that he would favour as there could be disadvantages.
An inter-departmental high-level liaison group involving defence and marine representatives was working well and allowed for flexibility, he said. He acknowledged there could be tension but felt confident that with "the right structures and the right hardware", the Naval Service's situation would improve.
Referring to the Air Corps, the Minister said its future was secure. A report on east coast search and rescue due out later this week is expected to recommend tendering out for a medium-load helicopter, which the Air Corps could not provide in the short term.
Mr Barrett said he would like to see a continuing role for the Air Corps in search and rescue and it was also required to carry out different functions. It was reasonable that pilots might want to leave to work elsewhere, provided adequate notice was given, he said.
