John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I question the wisdom of having such a motion on the Order Paper. It creates a dangerous precedent that this House can be used to threaten and undermine the integrity of the public procurement process. Senator Craughwell should know better than to be looking for commercially sensitive documentation during a tender process. He also made some very serious allegations both on the record of this House just now and also in an email to all Members a short time ago when he said, "I believe that at best this business case for the next Search and Rescue (SAR) contract was manipulated to provide a desired outcome or at worst it was a blatant effort to defraud the Irish taxpayers". Given that he circulated that email to all Members, I look forward to him providing evidence to that effect.

Some of the points in the motion are simply not factually correct and other arguments raised have been overtaken by events since the publication of the initial procurement documents and the recent clarifications that have been issued. I am sure Senator Craughwell is aware of last week's Government decision to clarify that there will be four bases, the existing four bases of Waterford, Shannon, Sligo and Dublin, as part of the procurement process. I compliment the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and the Government on taking a proactive approach on this to clarify the matters. Uncertainty was created as a result of tweets that were issued, including one by Senator Craughwell saying: "I see the tender is out. Clearly, one station is not being renewed. I expect Waterford is gone." That poured fuel on the rumour that Waterford and the south east were going to lose such a vital service. It also caused considerable distress and upset in the communities where I live - coastal and inland communities. The Senator should know better than to be tweeting out comments like that.

I conclude by echoing the comments of Senator Dooley regarding the crew of Rescue 117 in my own area who do a fantastic job day in, day out. They have been rewarded for their bravery. Those four bases, including the base at Waterford, have served the State well in recent years and will serve the State well for many generations to come.