Irish navy patrols set to increase after years of depleted activity

Naval vessel LÉ William Butler Yeats at berth before dawn in Cobh, Co Cork. Picture; David Creedon

The number of Irish navy patrols looks set to rise this year after successive years of dramatic reductions in activity.

Official figures show that the Naval Service will carry out in or around 520 patrols this year, extrapolating on the 349 patrols conducted up to the end of August.

That would compare to 428 patrols for all of 2024, suggesting a rise in the region of 20%.

The expected 2025 total would still be way off what it was just a few years ago.

The trend will give encouragement to Naval Service commanders that the increase may mark a turnaround in the fortunes of the service after years of a retention and recruitment crisis.

Figures show that the number of patrols dropped dramatically in recent years: 1,007 in 2020; 832 in 2021; 790 in 2022; 520 in 2023 and 428 in 2024.

The rise this year has seen, on average, between 44-48 patrols every month since March.

Recruitment

The improvement in patrols mirrors an increase in recruitment to the Naval Service this year, with around 160 recruits expected by the end of the year.

That would represent a 60% jump on recruitment figures last year (97) and mark a significant increase on the previous years (68 in 2023, 28 in 2022).

It is not clear how many sailors will leave the Naval Service in total this year; by the end of August, there had been 33 discharges.

That would suggest the numbers leaving in 2025 will probably be less than last year (75). It could bring Naval Service strength to the high 700s, closer to its 2022 figure.

Of the 84 inductions to August, 73 have been general service recruits and 11 have been direct entry specialists, including two marine engineer officers. More than 10 more direct entry specialists are expected before the end of the year.

Of the 33 discharges, 30 are enlisted personnel and three are officers.

The Irish Examiner reported that last month that the lack of specialist technicians to keep ship engines, electrical systems, and armaments properly functioning may hamper attempts to increase patrols.

The establishment strength of the Naval Service (the number it should be) is 1,094. 

Under the recommendation Level of Ambition 2 (LOA2) adopted by the government from the Commission on the Defence Forces (CoDF) in February 2022, the strength is supposed to grow by a further 700 by 2028, on top of the establishment figure — or 1,794 personnel.

LOA2 also envisages nine operational vessels — with double crews — by 2030.

The Defence Forces is expected to bring a Naval Service Regeneration Plan to the defence minister, Tánaiste Simon Harris, shortly.

In addition to its territorial waters — 12 nautical miles around the coast — Ireland has responsibility for the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), stretching 200 miles out from the south west and west coasts.

In addition to clusters of internet cables in those areas, the Irish Sea is home to two critical gas pipelines and three electricity interconnectors from Britain.

Last November, the Naval Service, in cooperation with the Royal Navy, monitored and shadowed the movement of the suspected Russian ‘subsea spy ship’, the Yantar, along the Irish Sea.