Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's commitment to having as much Air Corps involvement as possible. I will go back to the Minister's statement on the strategic assessment, particularly as regards the risks to the State. Around six private aircraft companies are expected to bid for the upcoming contract, of which two have fixed-wing aircraft based in Britain.

At least one of those is also contracted to do clandestine work for the British Ministry of Defence which in itself raises intelligence concerns. Such a decision would mean that the Irish Defence Forces would cease to have any control over the data or the intelligence gathered over this country as the aircraft would be departing from and returning to Britain. There is also the added lack of clarity of what impact Brexit would have on these agreements.

I draw the Minister's attention to the concerns raised by military officers - the Minister spoke of his own experience with the current search and air rescue contract. The helicopters are designated to be wheels up within 15 minutes during daylight and 45 minutes during night time. What possible implications could a contractor based out of Britain have on those timelines?

See this speech in context