Fears more naval ships will have to be tied up

The Le Niamh Picture Des Barry 

It is feared new emergency measures to bolster manpower levels in the Naval Service will take several more weeks than initially anticipated by Defence Minister Simon Coveney, meaning they won't stave off the tying-up of more ships.

It has emerged it could take several weeks of discussions between the Departments of Defence and Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) to iron out the measures, which are likely to include increased patrol allowances and incentives to attract technical experts into the service from the private sector.