Mr. Rossa Mulcahy:

I will bring the GOC in on this in a second but from a policy perspective, the supports the Defence Forces provide to the HSE and to An Garda Síochána are through memorandums of understanding, which are carefully worked out and negotiated. With the Garda air support unit, An Garda Síochána owns the aircraft and we operate it. There are many considerations there. It is not just the flying or the pilots, but maintenance and how that is managed. Synergy could well be provided but the costs and the contracts would have to be carefully managed in that regard as well. It is not just the procurement of the equipment itself, but its maintenance and support over its life span.

I will bring in the GOC on that because three of the capabilities the Deputy is talking about are in the rotary-wing space, so I will ask him for his views on that.