Vol. 547 No. 1
234 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for Defence the progress towards a determination on the acquisition of medium lift helicopters; if the project team carrying out the evaluation process has provided a report to him; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1397/02]
237 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Defence the position regarding the purchase of new helicopters for the Defence Forces; if his Department is seeking new tenders regarding the purchase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1644/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 234 and 237 together.
On 17 January 2002, I authorised my Department to open negotiations with Sikorsky International Operations, Inc., Connecticut, USA, for the purchase of three medium range helicopters, S-92s, for search and rescue purposes, with an option for a further two helicopters for general purpose military transport. The decision followed from a detailed examination of the tenders received from the four companies – Sikorsky, USA; CHC Scotia, Scotland; EH Industries Limited, UK and Eurocopter, France.
The offer from Sikorsky was deemed to be the most strategically and economically advantageous tender taking account of the award criteria set out for the tender competition, which were: functional characteristics, technical merit, all maintenance and on-line technical support, after sales service and warranty terms on offer, cost and ready availability of spare parts, tender prices and life cycle costs over a nominal 20 year period.
