Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

With respect, this has nothing to do with wages. It is to do with ensuring we have the capacity to save lives at sea when people get into trouble. I have had the benefit of the experience and the expertise of the current SAR contract. I would like to see the Air Corps and the Defence Forces playing as significant a role as they can in any future SAR arrangement or contract. There is Department of Defence and Air Corps expertise on the steering group and it is looking at what is possible. My objective is for us to be as ambitious as we can be as regards Defence Forces involvement but we must be also realistic about what is possible in the timelines available. First and foremost, we have to make sure the service is good because we have a very long coastline and dangerous sea conditions at different times of year. We need to be absolutely sure we are providing a first-class service. I would like the Air Corps to be as involved as it possibly can be and the process of trying to incorporate that interest in future planning is now under way.

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