Vol. 505 No. 2
10 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Defence the plans, if any, he has to provide the Air Corps with medium lift helicopters which would allow it to undertake search and rescue around the coast when the current contract between the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources and Bond Helicopters for the provision of search and rescue facilities at Dublin and Shannon expires. [9278/99]
The Irish Marine Emergency Service, IMES, of the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources has overall responsibility for the provision of a marine search and rescue service in this country. The Air Corps provides a search and rescue service from Finner, County Donegal, and Waterford Regional Airport as part of the overall search and rescue arrangements. Bond Helicopters provides a search and rescue service, using medium lift helicopters, from Shannon and Dublin Airports under contract to IMES.
The service operating from Dublin Airport commenced on 1 July 1998, prior to which the Air Corps provided search and rescue coverage on the east coast. It had been intended that the new service would be crewed by Air Corps personnel and would operate from Casement Aerodrome once legal difficulties concerning the question of the basing of a civil operation at a military airbase had been resolved. This latter element is being pursued with the Department of Public Enterprise and the Irish Aviation Authority.
The high incidence of retirement of Air Corps flying officers in recent years meant that the Air Corps was not in a position to provide pilots for the new service. Provision was, however, made in the contract with the operator for the introduction of Air Corps crew at a future date. The new service is currently operating from Dublin Airport with the option of relocating to Baldonnel at a future date.
The Government considered the Price Waterhouse reviews of the Air Corps and the Naval Service in the middle of last year. A planning and implementation process was set in train to give effect to the Government's decision. I have asked the Chief of Staff in conjunction with the General Officer Commanding the Air Corps and the Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service to submit implementation plans for my consideration to give effect to the effectiveness and efficiency recommendations in the Price Waterhouse report. The Chief of Staff has received draft implementation plans and work is continuing on the military side to finalise these for my consideration.
In parallel, and as part of the general White Paper process, I have asked for proposals from the Chief of Staff to address the long-term air and sea requirements of the State which would form the basis of the longer term development of the Air Corps and Naval Service to complement the on-going effectiveness and efficiency measures. I recently received his initial proposals and these are currently being considered. These proposals, including the question of future aircraft requirements, will have to be assessed and evaluated in the broader overall context of the White Paper on Defence.
While the service provided so far has been entirely satisfactory within the limitations imposed by the resources available to it, does the Minister not agree it would be more desirable in the long-term for this service not only to be crewed by the Air Corps but to be provided entirely from Air Corps resources? Would that not also help expand the envelope of the Air Corps' capacities in other logistics operations?
I agree with Deputy Dukes and that was the original intention but as he would know from his ministerial and other experience, the growth in the civil aviation industry has led to many pilots being attracted away from the Air Corps. We have had to introduce different schemes to hold back the haemorrhage. That is the prime reason we have not been able to follow that path. We have had constant recruitment for the last four years and the retention scheme has been relatively successful. The position has been stabilised but it still does not afford us the opportunity to man the aircraft for sea rescue in the way originally envisaged. It is hoped to return to that at some time.
Is the Minister committed to this? Is he actively working to ensure this service will return to the Air Corps? This is a catch 22; pilots leave because the Air Corps is not doing these essential tasks and morale goes down as a result. Surely there should be an attempt to replace the Air Corps fleet. Is the Minister actively working on that? Is there a timetable for its replacement? The key is whether the Minister is committed to the tasks returning to the Air Corps because if he is, it can happen. He must also replace the fleet and continue to recruit pilots; the latter numbers have been increasing slightly but need to increase further.
I do not think my commitment is in question, nor was that of my predecessors, but there was not much they could do given the growth of the civil aviation industry and the much more attractive remuneration packages which can be afforded by the private sector. The Air Corps has 81 pilots at present and the position is being stabilised. I am committed but I need an imple mentation plan for the Air Corps to decide what investment will be made in future aircraft; we have not reached that stage yet. I am committed to developing that military base as best I can. I have also indicated, privately and publicly, that I am anxious to look at Baldonnel in a wider context to see whether the potential for a mixed military and private development would enable me to have additional resources which would accelerate a programme of aircraft acquisition without always having to lean on the taxpayer.
