Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will ask a couple of questions on two separate items. At 5.25 p.m. on 21 May, the rear door of an Air Corps helicopter detached and fell more than 250 m onto the grounds of Moyle Park College in Clondalkin, which is in my constituency. The aircraft had successfully completed a lifesaving mission to a Dublin hospital and was on its way back to the aerodrome at Baldonnel to refuel when the door fell off. Reports have emerged about how the door fell off at the far side of Clondalkin village. It was then blown by the wind across the village and over the heads of pedestrians and motorists before landing in the grounds of the school. People have spoken to me about it. As the Minister of State can imagine, Clondalkin village was a hive of normal village activity at the time. Had we not been in the middle of a pandemic, Moyle Park College would have been bursting at the seams with children training for GAA, soccer, basketball and other sports. It is a miracle that no one was injured on the ground or in the aircraft.

What is the status of the investigation? When will the investigation be concluded and made public? What is the scope of the investigation? Will it include an investigation into what budget is provided for regular maintenance of Air Corps aircraft?

I have seen in my area at first hand the valuable contribution that retired members of the Defence Forces have made during Covid-19. For example, there is a group of seven retired Army personnel who voluntarily collect and deliver prescriptions for people who are cocooning and self-isolating. To date they have collected more than 1,000 prescriptions for our community. I want to take this opportunity to thank Anto, Sammy, Mick and the rest of the lads who are doing that.

On 1 April, the Government announced a scheme to re-enlist Defence Forces personnel to fill the gaps in the Permanent Defence Force. I have spoken to several former members of the Defence Forces who have applied to offer their services to the State but who are disappointed with the lack of response. A written response to a parliamentary question I tabled informed me that 502 applicants had been deemed eligible for re-enlistment. How many of these 502 eligible applicants have been re-enlisted to date? How many will be re-enlisted? What is the delay in the process?

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