Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have no wish to delay unnecessarily and I will not go over the detail relating to the value of the stations at Malin Head and Valentia or the work they have carried out for more than 100 years, but I wish to address the nub of the issue. In the Department's view, what is the rationale for the Fisher report and what is the rationale given by the Fisher report for recommending a two-centre mirror model? Is it primarily in terms of savings and staff? Do the stations at Malin Head and Valentia have the capacity or are they up to the level required to carry out the job? My experience from my inquiries is that they are but I seek a clear answer from the Department in terms of whether they have the capacity to do the job and whether they are doing it well. If the Department were to adopt Fisher's recommendation of a two-centre model with Dublin being the primary base, would it require a new building in Dublin?

My understanding is that the current operation base in Dublin is part of an OPW building and that it does not provide the level of security or stand-alone requirements needed for running a centre. For example, if an issue arose in another part of the building it may lead to the evacuation of that building. If the Fisher recommendation were to be implemented, would there be a requirement for a new building in some part of Dublin? If so, what would the cost be? Whose decision is it in terms of whether we go with the current three-centre set up or whether we move to a two-centre set-up? Can the Department officials clarify whether that is a decision for the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and whether it is entirely within his remit?