Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Craughwell for his very kind words. I would like to have achieved a hell of a lot more but I very much appreciate what he said. I always felt the Senator and I had a very good relationship even though we may have differed on a variety of issues. I always enjoyed my engagement with him both at the committee and around the Houses. Where we did differ most was on the search and rescue contract. I felt the Department did a really good job in a very complex and sensitive tendering process where it had to be rigorous in how it is implemented. I stand by that. I do not have any information from the Department about any fundamental delay or difficulty. I heard what the Senator said, however, and I will follow up to make sure we are on track.

While the Senator and I disagreed on search and rescue, one area on which we agreed and on which I was disappointed we did not achieve further progress was the involvement of the Air Corps, including in the provision of top cover and some of the other services we were contracting. I was keen to see that but it was not to be. It was not a lack of political desire to see that happening but having really tested it, pushed, encouraged and cajoled, we could not get it over the line.

The Senator and I agreed - I said this publicly at the time - that we both very much encourage the Air Corps to continue to increase its role. I am a strong advocate of the commission report on future investment in the Defence Forces. We need to scale up our capability in many different areas in the defence field. Included in that should be the potential in future because these contracts will continue to rotate and so on.