Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Craughwell. As Minister of State, I am committed to ensuring the Coast Guard remains fully capable and equipped to meet current and future challenges. An open recruitment process is under way to fill several leadership positions in the Irish Coast Guard, including a new appointment at assistant secretary level to lead the vital service and an open recruitment process for the director of the Coast Guard role.

In setting the strategic direction, the new assistant secretary will serve as a full member of the management board but will also oversee a review across all aspects, including strategy, structure, roles, culture and governance of the Coast Guard. This will be the first time an appointment is made at this level within the Department. It will be important in the context of the overall transformation and reform to make sure the Coast Guard is placed to succeed in the 21st century.

Related to the procurement of vehicles, there was an issue, as the Senator has referred, in July 2021 on the weaknesses of procurement. On receipt of the report to the Department, the Department appointed an independent forensic auditor to investigate the matter further. This investigation is at an advanced stage.

On the broader contract, the preliminary business case was approved in July 2021 to include a range of services: maritime and inland search and rescue; day and night air ambulance to the island communities; helicopter emergency medical services; and a range of other services. The contract for the new services will be awarded in quarter 2 of this year. A dedicated project team is implementing this major complex procurement project. There is external technical support in the fields of aviation, finance and project management, and the Chief State Solicitor's Office is providing legal advice. There is an independent external process auditor engaged to provide regular assurance around the conduct of the process. A project board structure was established to provide governance and oversight of the full procurement process with specialist input on all matters, including procurement, finance and risk, as well as a representative and independent external aviation consultant. Therefore, there is a robust governance structure and project team established for the new contract.

On the historical matters, it precedes my time. I can revert to the committee on any detail I can provide. Obviously, some of it is limited with commercial sensitivities.