Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)

I apologise to both Deputies for not having time to give them an oral response in full, which they also now have. I recognise their concerns. Following on from what I said, I will be bringing this to the attention of the Minister. I also understand the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach's time constraints.

The Department of Transport is prioritising the safe and effective transition of the aviation contract, without the interruption of services, 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 engaged with both contractors to facilitate revised transition timelines. The transition timeframe, following engagement and agreement between the two operators, was extended by just over six months. The transition will be completed in February 2026 at no additional cost to the Exchequer and without interruption to the four-base strategy. The operation of four bases continues to provide the resilience for service delivery so that when individual bases become temporarily unavailable for whatever reason, the workload is shared amongst the other bases and the specific requirements for each mission are assessed as they arise. In the case of both contracts, availability of any base can range from full availability to partial availability to temporary unavailability.

The new contract operated by Bristow Ireland will increase the capacity and the 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; aeromedical support; maritime environmental monitoring; and aviation support to the other State entities.

The Minister particularly recognises the critical importance of this service to our offshore island communities who rely on the Irish Coast Guard to provide day and night aeromedical support.

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