Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)

Following an engagement process with both contractors, the dates of transfer for the remaining three bases have been revised, as follows: Weston, 1 July 2025; Sligo, 15 December 2025; and Waterford, 31 January 2026.

I reiterate that the Department of Transport is prioritising the safe and effective transition of this aviation contract without interruption of service and is ensuring that the two contracted operators, CHCI and BIL, are providing sufficient capacity, expertise and resources to maintain safe search and rescue operations on a 24-7 basis across all areas of the country throughout this process. The Department is engaged with both contractors to facilitate revised transition timelines. As I stated, the transition timeline following engagement and agreement between the two operators has been extended to February 2026 at no cost to the Exchequer. The operation of four bases provides resilience for service delivery so that when individual bases become temporarily unavailable, the workload is shared among the other bases, with the specific requirements for each mission being assessed as they arise. In the case of both contracts, the availability of any base can range from full availability to partial availability or temporary availability.

The new contract operated by Bristow Ireland will increase the capacity and capability of the Coast Guard to provide a range of essential services that are of strategic importance to the State, including maritime and inland search and rescue, environmental monitoring and aeromedical support. I recognise the critical importance of the service to our offshore islands, which rely on the Irish Coast Guard to provide day and nighttime aeromedical support to these communities.

The Department will not allow any risk to be taken in a rush to meet contractual deadlines. The safety of the crew is the overarching priority. I reiterate that during this transition phase, a continued safe, efficient and effective aviation service is the overarching priority for the Government.

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