Catherine Callaghan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My last question was about the service commitment for technical staff. The Secretary General said local bargaining could possibly be considered in that regard. I note that the GOC mentioned we were operating at 50%, or just under 50%, of our strength in terms of maintenance. It was also stated that some maintenance was carried out by external contractors. Maybe we bring our aircraft abroad to be serviced there. How much does this cost us annually? With regard to the figure for local bargaining, is it correct that the proportion is 3% over two years? Is that sufficient to encourage more technicians to stay?

Reference was made to the air traffic control cadet scheme. We currently have three cadets in Spain. Are they on €25,000 per year? It was mentioned at the start that incoming cadets were on €25,000 until they were commissioned. Is it correct that it pops up to €45,000 once they are commissioned?