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

I am somewhat limited in what I can say because there is a process under way that I do not want to legally undermine. If I made an inappropriate contribution, I could be accused of undermining the process. This contract involves an enormous amount of public money. It is a process that must be fair to everybody, whether the existing operator or others who wish to bid for the service. It is being managed by another Department. There has been considerable engagement between that Department and my Department to try to do what is appropriate and what would provide value for money and protect the integrity of the process. My Department and I have been involved in that regard.

Ultimately, decisions on the scope, nature and procurement strategy for the next SAR marine aviation service will be a matter for the Government once the detailed appraisal and business case has been finalised by the Department of Transport. My contribution here is to try to ensure that the Defence Forces, through the Air Corps, put options on the table for how they can contribute in a positive way that can guarantee a quality of service and value for money that should be part of the broader considerations. It is up to the Department of Transport to respond to that. We have put a lot of work into this.

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