Sorca Clarke
Question:39. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Defence if he will review the decision to remove search and rescue duties from the Air Corps. [36726/20]
View answerTuesday, 17 November 2020
Questions (39)
Oral answers (6 contributions)
In 2003, after 40 years of involvement, the Fianna Fáil Government of the day ended all Air Corps participation in search and rescue services, which were then operating out of Sligo. Since then, the money spent on these search and rescue contracts has been eye-watering to say the least. This year the Department of Transport's budget for these services is €60 million, or just over €5 million per month, and it will spend an estimated €700 million over the term of the contract. This money would have been much better spent on investment in our Air Corps as the entity the State relies on for maintaining the service.
At the outset, let me clarify that no decision has yet been taken to change any aspect of the current delivery model of search and rescue, SAR, aviation services in Ireland's SAR domain. There is currently a project ongoing under the remit of the Department of Transport to consider, develop and bring to fruition a new marine search and rescue aviation contract for future service provision.
The current contract for the SAR helicopter service is between the Department of Transport and a civil helicopter operator, CHC Ireland DAC. The contract commenced on 1 July 2012 for a period of ten years, with an option to extend for a further three. The existing contract was extended earlier this year for one year to 2023 to facilitate the lengthy procurement process and ensure compliance with the public spending code.
A next generation SAR aviation steering group has been set up under the auspices of the Department of Transport and is led by the Irish Coast Guard to manage the procurement of the next SAR aviation service. Personnel from the Department of Defence and members of the Air Corps are key stakeholder members of the steering group progressing this contract and have played an active role in the group’s discussions since its inception a number of months ago.
The defence organisation is supportive of the Department of Transport’s programme to put in place the next generation SAR contract. A strategic assessment and preliminary appraisal document in line with the public spending code was agreed by the steering group and brought to the Government for information in July. The preliminary appraisal included an appraisal of various service delivery options, including one in which the State assumed full responsibility for the service, either through the Air Corps or through a dedicated Irish Coast Guard aviation branch. Both were ruled out for various reasons.
I agree with the strategic assessment and preliminary appraisal and I do not see the Air Corps taking full responsibility for SAR services in Ireland’s search and rescue domain. However, I would like to explore further the option of the Air Corps providing some element of the SAR aviation service, given its historical role in this area.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
Having said that, I am well aware of the challenges the Air Corps experienced in the past in providing this service and any exploration of its providing some element of the service would need to take into account its existing roles and the current challenges in delivering those roles. I confirm that I have asked my officials to engage further with the Department of Transport, which has responsibility for the SAR contract, to explore the option of the Air Corps providing some element of the next generation SAR aviation service while at the same time ensuring the service meets domestic and international obligations for search and rescue and represents value for money for the State.
It is important that we get this right for everyone. There is considerable State funding at play here and the provision of a life-saving service is the ultimate aim. For taxpayers, the community and service providers, it is important that a full and realistic consideration is made of all the viable options available to the State. I am happy that this is the approach currently being taken.
The Minister referred to the strategic assessment and preliminary appraisal document and that both State-run options were ruled out for a variety of reasons. The Minister's written response expands on those reasons, citing "the risks to the state and questions around potential affordability and deliverability". In that context, and in the context of the money due to be spent next year, how can the Minister not see that his statement flies in the face of any commitment to the Defence Forces, particularly given that he said moments ago that the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces was due to be established by the end of the month? Is he saying the Defence Forces are too expensive or that they are not worthy of investment? Is it that they are not properly equipped to carry out this kind of work? When this decision was first made, the differential between the private operators' wages and Air Corps wages was between €10,000 and €20,000, and not in favour of the Air Corps.
With respect, this has nothing to do with wages. It is to do with ensuring we have the capacity to save lives at sea when people get into trouble. I have had the benefit of the experience and the expertise of the current SAR contract. I would like to see the Air Corps and the Defence Forces playing as significant a role as they can in any future SAR arrangement or contract. There is Department of Defence and Air Corps expertise on the steering group and it is looking at what is possible. My objective is for us to be as ambitious as we can be as regards Defence Forces involvement but we must be also realistic about what is possible in the timelines available. First and foremost, we have to make sure the service is good because we have a very long coastline and dangerous sea conditions at different times of year. We need to be absolutely sure we are providing a first-class service. I would like the Air Corps to be as involved as it possibly can be and the process of trying to incorporate that interest in future planning is now under way.
I welcome the Minister's commitment to having as much Air Corps involvement as possible. I will go back to the Minister's statement on the strategic assessment, particularly as regards the risks to the State. Around six private aircraft companies are expected to bid for the upcoming contract, of which two have fixed-wing aircraft based in Britain.
At least one of those is also contracted to do clandestine work for the British Ministry of Defence which in itself raises intelligence concerns. Such a decision would mean that the Irish Defence Forces would cease to have any control over the data or the intelligence gathered over this country as the aircraft would be departing from and returning to Britain. There is also the added lack of clarity of what impact Brexit would have on these agreements.
I draw the Minister's attention to the concerns raised by military officers - the Minister spoke of his own experience with the current search and air rescue contract. The helicopters are designated to be wheels up within 15 minutes during daylight and 45 minutes during night time. What possible implications could a contractor based out of Britain have on those timelines?
With respect Deputy, we are not going to be the ones assessing those who tender for this contract. A group of experts will do that. They will ensure that the service provision we need from this contract is as comprehensively met as possible. That will be the tender that wins this.
I would like to see some form of carve-out with the overall provision of this service that can allow the Air Corps to do an awful lot more than it does today, as well as to invest in the training and the equipment that can allow it to do that. My interest, as Minister for Defence, is to ensure we are building capacity in the Air Corps, as well as responding to the service demands of a search and rescue contract that we have some time now to prepare for after 2022 and 2023.
We are not going to be supporting any service provision that does not have the capacity for quick response times. We certainly will not be compromising any intelligence data. With respect, I do not think the issues the Deputy raised are of real concern.