Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

I understand it is expected that the mission will cost approximately €60 million. Will the Minister of State confirm that this €60 million will not be taken out of mainstream funding for the Defence Forces? At present, there is major pressure on different elements of the Defence Forces for ongoing funding. Certainly the Defence Forces are not robust enough to make €60 million available at this time. Will the Minister of State confirm that provision will be made in the Estimates?

I asked also about the transport element of the mission to which the Minister of State did not refer in his response. Has any costing been made of the transport element of the particular mission? May I ask a question I put to the Minister, Deputy O'Dea, four or five weeks ago? Is it time to consider purchasing our own aircraft in order that we can have our own air transport capability? If this is not possible within the Defence budget perhaps we could look at our overseas aid budget so that it could be used by the Department of Defence, operated by the Air Corps, and for humanitarian purposes also. Will the Minister of State agree that our transport capability would help considerably in humanitarian cases of moving Irish aid?

The two questions are as follows. Will provision for the mission be made in the Estimates? Given the cost of leasing aircraft, would it be a good idea to consider purchasing our own aircraft?

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