Emmet Stagg
Question:10 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Defence if his Department is planning to outsource additional services currently provided by the Air Corps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29463/03]
Other Questions. - Air Corps Operations.
The range of services currently provided by the Air Corps include air ambulance, ministerial air transport, search and rescue services, Garda air support and military tasks. As the Deputy will be aware, a Sikorsky S61 helicopter has been leased by the Irish Coastguard from Canadian Helicopter Corporation Ireland pursuant to existing search and rescue contracts and has been tasked by the Irish Coastguard to the Air Corps. Canadian Helicopter Corporation Ireland provides and maintains the aircraft while it is flown and operated by Air Corps personnel.
The Garda air support unit comprises two helicopters, one a twin-engined AS355N Squirrel helicopter and the other a recently acquired EC 135 helicopter, and one Defender 4000 fixed-wing aircraft. The Garda Síochána is responsible for the operational control and policing functions of the service, the Air Corps personnel have responsibility for all matters relating to the flying of the aircraft and have responsibility for the maintenance of the Squirrel helicopter and the Defender aircraft while the maintenance for the EC 135 will be contracted out. Following a Government decision in November 2001 it had originally been planned to contract out both flying and maintenance for the EC 135. However, for technical, operational and legal reasons this did not prove possible. In April 2002 the Government decided to place the EC 135 on the military register with the Air Corps responsible for flying and that an interdepartmental committee would continue to examine the options for the full implementation of the contract out of the flying and maintenance for the EC 135.
The EC 135 became fully operational in early 2003. Maintenance is currently being provided on an interim basis by McAlpine Engineering Limited. A tender for long-term maintenance was issued in December 2002. My Department and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform are in contract negotiations with the winning tenderer and it is anticipated that these negotiations will be completed shortly.
Does the Minister accept that there is widespread concern in the Air Corps at what many members see as gradual downgrading of their role in search and rescue operations? Originally, the Air Corps provided all search and rescue services but this role appears increasingly to be handed over to private sector operators.
I am anxious to ensure that the Air Corps plays a full and positive role in search and rescue. Unfortunately, as Deputy Sherlock is aware, we have run into difficulties in the north-west regarding the provision of a full-time search and rescue service on the S61 helicopter. My Department has had contact with the coastal and marine service of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and, regrettably, we are not now in a position to maintain a full-time search and rescue service in that region. We are endeavouring to make sure that, with the exception of full-time winching, all search and rescue services will be provided by our personnel. We are recruiting and requesting people who have previous experience in this technical area to consider returning to it. However, my advice from the Air Corps is that, considering the training requirements involved, it would be August 2004 before we would have a 24-hour service in place to meet all requirements. Meanwhile we will have a day-time 12-hour service which will provide practically everything else and will include some winching. This service will be provided on the basis of the personnel available but, taking account of illness and leave, one cannot guarantee that the service would extend beyond a certain percentage of the time.
We are desperately anxious to maintain the service in the Air Corps and we are trying by every means to return to a full-time service. The officer commanding the Air Corps and his staff are doing everything they can to ensure that anyone who is available and wants to go for training is facilitated. We had 17 personnel in the north-west and for a period there was much illness. Of those 17 people, 13 have been redeployed. This has caused considerable problems for all in maintaining the service. The service is important for the Air Corps and one I wish to retain. However, for that to happen the necessary personnel must be in place. We are doing all we can to meet that requirement but we will be unable to provide a 24-hour service for some time.
Can the Minister say it is not his policy to outsource the search and rescue service? The cost of leasing the S61 helicopter is €15 million for three years. Would such an investment not be adequate to provide the service within the Department?
The Irish Coastguard has overall responsibility for the provision of search and rescue services within the Irish search and rescue region. This is not a matter of money. I have provided, in my Department's Estimate, the €4 million which is required annually for the leasing of this dedicated helicopter which meets all the requirements of search and rescue in our climate and weather conditions. The finances are available. This is a matter of having trained personnel ready and willing to supply the technical aspects of this service, particularly with regard to winching. In the absence of many of the people who were involved I must fill those positions. I assure the Deputy that this is not a matter of financial resources but of providing trained personnel to meet the requirements of a demanding area. Search and rescue is carried out in all kinds of conditions by highly skilled and trained personnel. One cannot take risks with it.
I do not want anyone to come from the outside to take over our role. However, I have responsibility for safety of the public. If I am unable to provide the service on a full-time basis I must listen attentively to someone who tells me he can do so.
I am glad the Minister agrees that the search and rescue service provided by the Air Corps in the past has been excellent. We all have experience of how the Air Corps has responded to emergencies along the north-west coast in all weather conditions, since the service was established there. Does the Minister agree that the present situation in the north-west is unsatisfactory due to the fact that we do not have a full search and rescue service? We may have a full search service but not a full-time rescue service due to the absence of winch crews. The Minister has told us it will be 2004 before a full service is operational again. Does he agree that the crisis in the north-west was precipitated by the fact that grievances and concerns were not adequately dealt with? When the Ombudsman Bill, which is before the House, is passed before the end of the year perhaps one of the Ombudsman's first jobs will be to deal with the grievances and concerns expressed by the crews which have been redeployed.
The limited service of which I spoke involves search, air ambulance, disaster relief, everything except operations requiring a winch crew. We have a winch crew who are prepared to help us but we do not have sufficient numbers to provide the service on a full-time basis. We are not as stranded as one might think. Nonetheless, we do not have a satisfactory, adequate, full-time service. I am anxious to ensure that the process of training and preparation to achieve that is progressed as quickly as possible. I am informed by the commanding officer of the Air Corps that the best they can do will be to meet the requirement in August 2004. In negotiations that take place I am obliged to give full consideration to alternative arrangements which fill that gap.
The north-west is a very important area where we have been presented with challenges in the past. It is entitled to have a full-time service. I will enter into negotiations with the Irish Coastguard service and the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources to ensure that as much as possible is done as speedily as possible.
Is it the long-term policy of the Government that the Air Corps will continue to have charge of the north-west region? I understand that the remainder of the country has been outsourced, as Deputy Sherlock stated.
Yes, that is the policy. I had no wish to see the present circumstance that has developed. Deputy McGinley mentioned two matters which are to do with industrial relations between the individuals concerned and management in the Air Corps. I have not received a request from any of the representative associations indicating to me that there were specific problems but if there are such problems—
It is an open secret.
That surprises me somewhat. I have not received a request from the representative associations.