An Cosantóir

developing ireland's sea power | 21 kms offshore, effectively doubling the Naval Service's area of responsibility. These extended waters have to be patrolled and we have to deliver the same quality of services as anywhere else. In times of bad weather a merchant vessel can stay clear of these hostile wa- ters, statistically the most hostile in the world, but we have to be prepared to op- erate in them when deliver- ing defence or government services. These waters represent ciently and we are increasingly working towards the development of a recognised maritime picture (RMP), which will, to some degree, facilitate our ability to see what is happening in our waters and thereby aid the planning process. The three dimensions of the maritime de- fence and security realm are surface, sub- surface and air. Marrying our naval assets with the latest in surveillance technology is the key to controlling these dimensions. At the moment we have the ability to cover a lot of what happens on the surface. Our crews and vessels are very versatile, well trained, and well equipped for drugs and arms interdiction, and we effectively specialise in intercepting and boarding small vessels on the high seas. We are currently looking at subsurface technologies and we are collaborating with the Marine Institute's 'Smart Bay' 'Smart Ocean' initiatives. Some readers may wonder what threats we could face from beneath the surface. But if you take drug smuggling, for example, the resources available to some drug cartels are enor- mous. Five years ago they had the technolo- gy to smuggle their drugs in semi-submers- ible craft or in sub surface attachments on merchant ships. Today they are building and using full submersibles. Regarding ship design we have to try to predict where we will be operating in the future, something that can change sub- stantially. For instance, ten years ago our economic exclusion zone (EEZ) extended for 200 nautical miles, whereas today, since the government's claim through the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, this has increased to over 500 nautical miles or over 1000 substantial economic value. For example, we have an estimated € 3/4 trillion in natural gas and oil reserves off our west coast within our EEZ and possibly double that if you include our continental shelf ju- risdiction. This economic potential doesn't include the renewable wind and wave capacity that is also around our shores. We have the world's richest wave resource on our doorstep. Indeed, there is no reason that Ireland could not become the battery of Europe in the future. Ireland currently gains approximately 1% of its GDP from the maritime sector, in the future, however, we could find Ireland competing with other countries in the maritime sector. Just look at some of our neighbours where for ex- ample the sector makes up 5% of the UK's GDP, 8% of Belgium's, 11% of Denmark's, and 20% of Norway's. Once we start utilis- ing our natural resources and leveraging the technology opportunities our maritime sector's contribution to GDP will start ris- ing rapidly. As regards funding, we have to ratio- nalise what we have at the moment and look at increased efficiencies in terms of how we do our business. This will require a transformation across the board to find the most efficient, cost-cutting solutions. This transformation, which has to be collabora- tive, and evidence based, will not just be top-down but must also be bottom-up. This means we shouldn't just sit on our hands and wait for directions. The Chief of Staffs transformation agenda has em- powered all parts of the Defence Forces to institutionalise an agility that ensures the relevance of the Defence Forces to society and requires that it is adaptable and useable. We are responding to his leader- ship and setting the agenda for the Naval Service in a professional and smart manner, transforming the Navy into a knowledge institution. We have set our vision that by 2016 our navy will be the smartest, most innovative and responsive Naval Service provider in the world. I believe that our personnel have the experience and the knowledge to do just this and what else should the citizen expect. Adopting a collaborative approach to look at efficient and potential ways for cost-cutting through arrangements with other institutions in the state that have an interest in the maritime, will lead to more effective public services in the area of defence, security and government services. Already with partners such as University College Cork (UCC), Cork Institute of Tech- nology (CIT), Enterprise Ireland, the IDA, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), Bord Gáis and over 30 small and me- dium enterprises (SMEs) the navy has been a key driver in the establishment of the Maritime Energy Research Campus & Com- mercial Cluster (MERC3). Under the MERC umbrella a variety of projects and collabor- ative initiatives are leading to new techno- logical developments which are enhancing the capabilities of the naval service and also leading to job creation. Collaborative initiatives being pursued include inter alia technology development in the application of wireless technology for tracking marine firefighters in enclosed spaces, the devel- opment of unmanned maritime air vehicle and remote underwater vehicle technol- ogy and the development of enhanced security technologies for high value items. Amongst the institutes engaged in MERC are CIT's Nimbus and Rubicon Centres, and UCC's Tyndall, 4C, CMRC and HMRC centres. Companies from all over Ireland such as Reamda, CBE, Cathyx Ocean and Skytec as well as many more are actively engaged in technological development. Already the initiative is resulting in foreign direct investment to Ireland. All of this in turn is helping to stimulate the economy in the maritime sector. So it can be seen that the future of the Naval Service is not just to be found simply through the linear traditional ap- proach of delivering defence and security services. The future is very much inte- grated into a complimentary strategy which drives innovation and the creation of knowledge, and the facilitation of adaptive, dynamic capabilities that allow the service to seize that fleeting objective that otherwise would be lost. It is a strat- egy that is helping the Navy to achieve its vision, that is to be the smartest. THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE

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