Mr. Caoimhín Ó Ciaruáin:

I can answer that question. What we are doing at the moment is looking at the ten-year contract. It is the largest component of spending in the Coast Guard. There is no question about it. It represents approximately 85% of the overall amount of money. It is a significant spend and it is one of the largest contracts in the State. There is no question that it is a significant amount of money. It was tendered internationally against specific requirements. The development of the tender at the time involved the proposal being run through many hoops to get it to the point where it was ready for tender.

I was asked about the mid-term review. We are looking at the contract as it exists and whether it is delivering what we want and what we intended at the outset. Part of this relates to the machines and the helicopters while part of it is the built-in resilience that is there. We are paying a premium for a level of contingency and concurrency in the contract. In the event that something, God forbid, happens, then we require a certain amount for that. That is in the contract and we are paying a significant amount for it. It is a requirement of the contract. The mid-term review is looking at the existing contract, whether it is delivering the key performance indicators that we intended at the outset and whether adjustments can be made within the contract for the remaining element of the contract.

The question of extension arises and a decision will have to be taken on that. Other extraneous issues arise relating to the contract and other issues that may impact over the course of the year in terms of other investigations, etc. That is also part of what we will have to consider. Part of this process involves looking at how we set up a new contract and what parameters might change or vary. The Senator is correct. The mix of helicopters and the model will be looked at in terms of the value for money we are getting from the existing model. The mix of bases, the type of helicopter and so on will be part of that discussion. That is not a matter for right now because we are looking at the contract, but all the information that we are gathering will inform the next stage.

This is a lengthy process. The contract is worth €600 million plus over ten years so there will be considerable interest in it. However, as members will probably know, there is a small pool of companies internationally which provide this service. We have a specific model under which the contracted company will private and not military. Many jurisdictions use the military to perform this service. The Air Corps would have done it in the past. The decision to exclude a military provider will be reviewed as part of this process as well. All the models for delivery of the service will be looked at in terms of what delivers the best value for money. That is our primary consideration.