{"id":641571,"date":"2026-10-01T11:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T11:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/641571\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T11:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T11:44:09","slug":"defence-forces-purchase-of-armoured-vehicles-wasted-millions-in-taxpayer-funds-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/641571\/","title":{"rendered":"Defence Forces purchase of armoured vehicles wasted \u2018millions in taxpayer funds\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The purchase of a fleet of armoured vehicles for the Defence Forces<\/a> that were hardly ever used wasted millions in taxpayer funds, according to the State\u2019s spending watchdog.<\/p>\n

The State purchased 27 RG-32M light-armoured tactical vehicles (LTAVs) from BAE Systems in South Africa in 2008. They were designed to fill a capability gap between soft-skinned vehicles and armoured personnel carriers.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, The Irish Times reported that the LTAVs received minimal use during their 14-year lifespan before being retired in 2023.<\/p>\n

The vehicles, which suffered frequent mechanical issues, were offered for donation to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This offer was declined as the vehicles were deemed unsuitable for their requirements.<\/p>\n

In a report published on Tuesday, the Comptroller and Auditor General<\/a> stated that the vehicles were withdrawn early from service. When they were purchased, they were expected to be in operation up to 2029.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Opinion: Why Ireland\u2019s whack-a-mole approach to defence is profoundly concerningOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven the early withdrawal from service of the LTAV vehicles, and their apparent light use while in service, the department and the Defence Forces did not receive the service they expected from the vehicles,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result, there was a significant loss of value arising from their purchase.\u201d<\/p>\n

It said the loss of value was significantly greater than the \u20ac2.7 million writedown of the vehicles in the 2025 financial statements.<\/p>\n

The total purchase price for the vehicles in 2008 was just over \u20ac20 million including VAT.<\/p>\n

An issue was discovered with the vehicles in 2011 that affected their drivetrain. While one vehicle was travelling on the motorway, a drivetrain broke, resulting in the vehicle going on fire, the report said.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Who protects Irish skies? The secret air defence deal that dates back to the Cold WarOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The Defence Forces also reported difficulty in sourcing replacement parts. \u201cThe procurement of replacement parts was often subject to major delays, affecting repair timelines, vehicle availability, and the efficient sustainment of the fleet,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

The Department of Defence<\/a> said there was an issue with the odometer of some of the vehicles, meaning they had to be replaced, resulting in the recorded mileage sometimes being reset to zero. In one case, a vehicle recorded negative mileage.<\/p>\n

The Comptroller\u2019s report called this a \u201cserious fleet management control failure\u201d, which should have been rectified at the manufacturer\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n

The department said it had \u201clearned lessons from this procurement\u201d and that its procurement processes had evolved significantly since 2008, \u201cwith the objective of optimising the life cycle of expensive military equipment it acquires\u201d.<\/p>\n

The State is in the early stages of purchasing a fleet of armoured vehicles from France<\/a> as part of an estimated \u20ac500 million deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The purchase of a fleet of armoured vehicles for the Defence Forces that were hardly ever used wasted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":641572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,38183,13308,3585,61,60],"class_list":["post-641571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-comptroller-and-auditor-general","tag-defence-forces","tag-department-of-defence","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=641571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/641571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/641572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=641571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=641571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=641571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}