16 fishing vessels detained, 340 patient airlifts, 130 army operations in busy year for Defence Forces

Army carried out some 130 operations to assist An Garda Síochána and the Prison Service. File picture.

The Naval Service conducted more than 300 operations boarding fishing vessels this year, resulting in 16 detentions.

The Air Corps conducted over 140 maritime surveillance flights in 2020 and provided more than 340 patient airlifts in isolated rural communities.

Meanwhile, the Army carried out some 130 operations to assist An Garda Síochána and the Prison Service in everything from bomb disposal call outs to cash and prisoner escorts.

The details are contained in the Defence Forces Year in Review, which outlines activities both at home and overseas.

The Naval Service had another busy year, conducting 307 fisheries boardings, resulting in 16 detentions.

The Naval Service had a busy year. File picture.

The Irish Navy patrols 220m maritime acres of sea — over 12 times the landmass of Ireland and representing 15% of Europe’s fisheries.

“Fishing vessels from Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Belgium and Denmark were boarded and inspected in 2020,” the review said.

The Irish Navy patrols 15% of Europe's fisheries. File picture.

The Naval Service Dive Section (NSDS) was deployed to 19 operations so far this year.

In terms of military operations, the unit conducted underwater maintenance of the Naval Service Fleet, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle operations, and berth surveys/clearances for visiting ships.

The NSDS has been involved in three separate search and recovery operations following requests from the Coast Guard and An Garda Síochána, many of these operations lasting several days.

The Naval service conducted 307 fisheries boardings. File picture.

“Two deceased individuals have been recovered in the process of these searches this year and returned to their loved ones,” the review said.

It said there have been 14 separate search and rescue responses from the Naval Service this year.

Defence forces supported the prison service and the Gardaí in operations throughout the year. File picture.

The review said the LÉ Niamh “averted a potential ecological disaster” by taking under tow a stricken crude oil tanker in the vicinity of Galway Bay. It said LÉ Ciara recovered a missing person 22 nautical miles west of Lambay Island.

The Air Corps conducted in excess of 140 Maritime Surveillance Patrol flights in 2020. It completed 344 Emergency Aeromedical Services (EAS) missions supporting the HSE in providing a medical service for seriously ill patients in isolated rural communities. 2020 also saw the 3000th patient airlifted by EAS.

581 Defence Forces personnel are serving overseas. File picture.  

“The Air Corps provided 45 inter hospital Air Ambulance service support to the HSE in response to time critical medical emergencies,” it said. “36 these flights required patient delivery to UK or mainland Europe.” 

The Air Corps responded to several requests to provide aerial fire-fighting across five counties dropping over 340,000 litres of water to protect property.

It has also conducted 10 Covid sample transport flights to Germany in direct support to the national response to the coronavirus pandemic.

It continues to support the Garda Air Support Unit flights in 2020.

The Army conducted over 133 Aid to the Civil Power Operations in support of An Garda Síochána involving Explosive Ordnance Disposal (bomb squad) call outs, prisoner escorts, explosive escorts, major cash escorts and search operations.

The Defence Forces deployed a Company of Troops with supporting elements on a Land Security Operation during the visit of the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge in March.

Members of the Defence Forces continued to provide a permanent armed guard at Ireland’s only high-security prison, Portlaoise Prison, as well as the Central Bank, Irish Industrial Explosives and Government Buildings.

It said the Defence Forces contributed personnel and expertise supporting the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications’ National Cyber Security Centre.

Personnel were deployed throughout the year to assist civil authorities during multiple operations, including flood defence preparations and pump maintenance in Westmeath, Clare & Limerick.

Overseas, the Irish Defence Forces continued what is the longest unbroken record of overseas service with the United Nations of any country in the world since first deploying to a UN mission in 1958.

In 2020, Defence Forces personnel were deployed on United Nations, NATO PfP (Partnership for Peace), EU CSDP (Common Security and Defence Policy) and OSCE Peace Support and Crisis Management Operations across 14 missions in 13 countries.

The review said there were currently 581 Defence Forces personnel serving overseas.

The largest Defence Forces deployment overseas is with the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), where 345 Irish soldiers currently serve.

The second-largest deployment for the Defence Forces is with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights, Syria, where 138 Irish soldiers currently serve.

The Defence Forces has a smaller number of soldiers deployed to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) with an Army Ranger Wing (ARW) team with the German Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) Task Force in the east of the country. Also deployed to Mali are 20 Irish soldiers who serve with European Union Training Mission (EUTM) Mali, delivering education and training to the Malian Armed Forces.