David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Will the Minister comment on whether if he feels it is important that such a vessel could carry helicopters? What other tasks would he envisage such a vessel performing? We have seen reports in the past of hospital ships, ships that can carry out rescue missions such as those we have had in the Mediterranean in the past, and ships that can carry cargo and so on. Will he give us an outline of what his thinking is with respect of the tasks such a vessel might perform, in particular with respect to the aerial capabilities of carrying helicopters that can be deployed as we have seen recently?

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