49. Deputy Cathal Berry asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence to outline the Defence Forces' anti-submarine warfare capability; if he has any plans to upgrade it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22160/24]

My priority as Minister for Defence is to ensure the operational capacity of the Naval Service, Air Corps and Army is maintained and developed. This is to enable the Defence Forces to carry out the roles assigned by Government, as set out in the White Paper on Defence. Equipment priorities for the Naval Service, Air Corps and Army are continuously considered in the context of the capability and equipment development planning processes.

There is a significant body of work currently underway to ensure that the Defence Forces have the required capabilities with equipment projects in various stages of the project lifecycle.

Most significantly for the subsea domain, a civil-military working group established to progress a programme of work for subsea awareness capabilities is concluding a key stage of the process. The Needs Phase, which sets out the rational and justification for the capability and identifies and appraises potential solutions is due to complete shortly. This working group assessed a variety of capabilities including sonar capabilities in line with the new Infrastructure guidelines published in December 2023. Recommendations on an investment programme of work will be brought for approval shortly. The work completed to date, once approved, will provide clear direction for the development of enhanced subsea awareness capabilities for the Defence Forces.