Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I second the motion. First, I want to thank the members of the Irish search and rescue service who risk their lives to save the lives of many other people. Regardless of who they are or for which service they work, they face the same challenges and difficulties and they put themselves at risk for us. It is important that we never lose sight of that in any debate on SAR.

My understanding is that since 2004 the Irish Coast Guard has had overall responsibility for the provision for the search and rescue service within the Irish search and rescue domain. I understand also that the Irish Coast Guard falls within the remit of the Ministry of Transport. A SAR action steering company was established under the auspices of the Department of Transport and led by the Irish Coast Guard to manage procurement for the next SAR aviation service. Can the Minister of State confirm if personnel from the Department of Defence and members of the Air Corps are key stakeholder members of the steering group progressing the next contract, etc? Is the defence organisation supportive of the Department of Transport's plans for the next generation search and rescue contract? Has a full appraisal of the various service delivery options been completed? Has the Government at this stage ruled out the State assuming full responsibility for the service through the Air Corps? I do not propose to make a call in that regard because I am not qualified to do so, but they are kernel issues in this debate.

I again thank the Minister of State for coming to the House for this debate and I thank the Government for the countermotion. I gleaned a great deal of information from it. If nothing else, the motion and the countermotion have shone a light on a number of issues and helped me and, I think, other Members of this House to understand other aspects of the issue. I look forward to the Minister of State's comprehensive reply.