Vol. 530 No. 6
127 Mr. Finucane asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if, following a letter received on 20 November 2000 from the Irish affiliate of the International Transport Workers Federation, he has met a delegation from the ITF-SIPTU; his plans to restore a 24 hour search and rescue service at Waterford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4969/01]
I indicated that I would be glad to arrange for a deputation from the group in question to meet the Irish Coast Guard to discuss the restoration of an all-weather, 24 hour search and rescue helicopter service at Waterford.
The position is that my Department, in consultation with the Departments of Defence and Finance, has the primary responsibility to set the levels and standards of the air/sea support requirements for search and rescue – SAR. My Department is working closely with the Department of Defence to urgently replace the Alouette, which is in replacement on a temporary basis for the Dauphin which crashed on 2 July 1999, with an all-weather, night flying capacity at Waterford. I am not in a position at present to put any precise date on when the replacement will be in place although it is my hope that this can be achieved later this year.
My colleague, the Minister for Defence, Deputy Michael Smith, announced on 12 July 2000 the first stage of a process to acquire new medium lift helicopters for the Air Corps. This major investment programme involves the acquisition of two medium lift helicopters, with an option for a third, for search and rescue purposes as well as an option for two medium lift helicopters for general purpose military transport.
