Vol. 451 No. 4
53 Mr. Clohessy asked the Minister for the Marine when a decision will be made regarding the provision of medium range helicopters for search and rescue operations off the west coast of Ireland post 1996, in view of the fact that the current contract for this service is due to expire in January 1997; if he intends to recommend that this service be provided by the Air Corps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6650/95]
54 Miss Quill asked the Minister for the Marine the criteria which will be used in selecting the successful applicant for the Air Sea Rescue Service out of Shannon in 1995. [6646/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 53 and 54 together.
The existing contract for the provision of a medium-range search and rescue helicopter service based at Shannon was placed with Irish Helicopters Ltd by the Department in June 1991 following Government approval. This contract runs until the end of 1996.
Performance to date has fully lived up to expectations as demonstrated in the statistics which I recently published. Since 1991 the Department's helicopter has carried out over 400 missions and has saved over 300 lives.
The Government also decided in 1991 that the feasibility of operating a medium-range helicopter service by the Air Corps from 1997 should be fully examined and costed. A Department of Defence assessment of that option has been completed recently and is being considered in the context of an overall review of search and rescue requirements on the expiry of the existing contract in December 1996.
In considering all the options available for meeting our future search and rescue helicopter needs my objective is to deliver the highest achievable standards of reliability, quality and level of rescue service while ensuring the best value for State resources.
