Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil sé an-ghnóthach sa Dáil. Mar sin, tá mé an-bhuíoch go bhfuil sé ag caitheamh a chuid ama anseo.

The Minister of State knows that I have spoken with him about this issue in one-to-one meetings in Connemara. I hope the Minister of State can give us an update on the air service to the Aran Islands that can reassure the islanders that they will have a service as of 1 October in the short term and in the future. The air service to which I am referring is a airplane service. They want a fixed-wing aircraft from Minna in Connemara. Nothing else will suit them and to be fair, they are the end users. They are the customers and any reasonable public official or Department would take the end users' needs into account. The Minister of State knows that Aer Arann's contract expires at the end of this month. That is in six days' time so I would like him to address that question. Will there be an air service as of 1 October?

I presume the Minister of State knows that as of yesterday, councillors on Galway County Council voted unanimously to block the use of Galway Airport for the provision of air services to the Aran Islands after 15 December so the preferred tenderer that his Department has chosen has no airport to fly from. In that case, the preferred tenderer was a helicopter service which in any case is not the wish of the islanders.

I will run through a few separate points. The islanders' requirements were never taken into account when drawing up the tender document - why? The issue of respect is fundamental here. The Minister of State knows that they want their service from Connemara because it gives them choice in the sense that the boat is nearby. If they miss the plane, they have the boat. There is no other way to get to the islands. You have to cross water. I was in Inis Meáin at the weekend. You are always rushing to the boat. I live beside Galway Airport - the airport with the preferred tender. It took me one hour and 15 minutes to get to the boat on a Sunday morning at 9 a.m. It would take a minimum of two hours with the traffic in Galway city to get from Galway Airport to Rossaveal in the event that someone needed to get the boat instead of a plane if the helicopter did not work out.

Galway Airport is unsuitable for the needs of the islanders for the reasons I have outlined. No other regular offshore island service in Europe is supplied by helicopter. The Scottish islands are the ones that are most similar to the Aran Islands and they have many island air services. All Scottish islands are served by fixed-wing aircraft known as the "Islander". They are preferred for their reliability and safety in open Atlantic conditions. There is an issue here about crossing water. I have spoken to people who have worked in helicopter services for 20 years and they have told me that helicopters are quite reliable on land but are not as reliable over water. If they have to land, they turn upside down. I looked at the statistics as well and in Ireland, there is some statistical information to show that helicopters are less safe than fixed-wing aircraft. Feeling safe matters to people.

Look at the human stories. The Minister of State knows that there is a massive campaign here that is not going to stop. My question to him concerns how he is going to resolve it and when. Will he take the wishes of the islanders into account? A woman appeared on "Prime Time" last week. I did not see the programme. She is 80 years of age and was very upset. She has not used any form of transport other than the plane for the past 45 years. Some older people on the islands are telling me that they will not make their appointments or go to Galway University Hospital if they have to take the boat. They have come to rely on the air service and they are happier that way. A woman with diabetes gets sick if she goes on a boat so her life or health could be put at risk if she vomited, for example. There are people attending Galway University Hospital for chemotherapy and stroke victims whose preferred mode of transport is a air service. They deserve equality of treatment. Surely we need the options. When it comes to an air service, their wish is for a fixed-wing airplane from Connemara Airport in Minna. That is the requirement. Will the Minister of State put this out to tender again because the preferred tender has fallen apart?

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this important issue and I acknowledge that her colleague, Senator Naughton, has been in contact with me on a regular basis about this important issue. I should say that since the air service is the subject of an ongoing public procurement process, I have been advised that it would not be appropriate to make any comment on that process or to say anything that might prejudice it in any way or prejudice any appeal that might be made with regard to the outcome of the procurement process by way of a judicial review to the High Court.From the outset, it has always been my aim to ensure that there is a continuation of an air service for the Aran Islands. As required under the relevant EU regulation, my Department commissioned a comprehensive review of the need for a PSO service to the Aran Islands in 2014. This review was published in May of last year. The review covered the period 2003 to 2013 and I am satisfied that this review was both rigorous in its investigations and fair in its findings. The review recognised the importance of the air service to the island communities and its contribution to island life.

At the same time, the report recognised that the cost of providing the air service had increased dramatically by 136% during the ten-year period under review, that the efficiency of the programme had deteriorated over the period in question and that the continuation of this trend into the future was unsustainable. Based on the report's recommendations and mindful of the need for value for money in providing this service, my Department requested that the Office of Government Procurement, OGP, as the agency charged by the Government with administering procurement services for the State, undertake a tendering process in order to put in place an air service contract for the period from 1 October 2015 to 30 September 2019. Prior to this tendering process being undertaken, officials from my Department met with representatives of the island communities in order to listen to their views in regard to the service.

The tendering process was undertaken in accordance with the requirements of EU Regulation 1008/2008 which governs public service obligations and air services. I am sure the Seanadóir will appreciate that, as Minister for State, I had no involvement in the procurement process itself following my decision that a PSO air service should continue to be provided. I am, of course, well aware of the issues Senator Healy-Eames has raised today about the mainland departure point for the air service and the type of aircraft to be used.

On Galway Airport being included in the request for tenders, I would like to make it clear that, from the time this PSO route was originally established under EU regulations in 2001, both Galway Airport and Na Minna Airport were identified as mainland departure points. This allows for the widest possible competition and consequential potential for value for money, which must be a central component in any service to be paid for out of the public purse. It is important to emphasise that this tender competition, in so far as it pertains to the inclusion of the mainland departure points of Galway Airport and Na Minna Airport, does not in any way deviate from previous tender competitions for this service.

On the type of aircraft that can be used to provide this service, the request for tenders allowed for all types of aircraft, as Regulations (EC) No. 1008/2008 does not define or limit the categories of aircraft to which PSO routes may be offered.

I have met representatives of the island communities on a number of occasions since the announcement of the preferred tenderer and their concerns about the tendering process and the future of the air service have been brought to my attention. I want to assure the Seanadóir and everyone concerned that I will continue to endeavour, within the scope available to me, to ensure that an air service that serves the interests of the islands continues into the future. I am conscious of the time pressures and that the current contract comes to an end at the end of this month. I am aware of the meeting that took place in Galway yesterday. I ask today for space to allow the people in the OGP tasked with the responsibility of carrying out the process and the officials from my Department to evaluate a number of issues which have arisen in the recent past. I also wish to acknowledge the fact that there have been a number of meetings on the islands, some of which were attended by politicians. I understand 18 politicians went to the public meetings on the three islands. The feedback I am receiving from various politicians is that all those meetings were held in a very dignified way and I wish to acknowledge that fact as well.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State will certainly get the space from me, but 1 October is looming. In his supplementary response, will the Minister of State clarify if he expects a service to be in place after 1 October, which is in six or seven days' time? The Minister of State said that prior to the tendering process, officials from his Department met with representatives of the island communities. What did the officials hear? Did they hear from the islanders that a helicopter service from Galway Airport would be satisfactory? I am quite sure they did not hear that. This is fundamental.

As I said, I was on Inis Meáin at the weekend and I met all the children and the teachers in the two schools. The one question put to me was why the Minister of State will not visit the islands. I thought it was meant in good spirit although I know the Minister of State might feel he is under fire. They put questions to me about matters on which I would not necessarily agree with them. However, out of respect to the islanders, it would be good if the Minister of State visited and heard from them. He does not have to give his decision there and then when on the island, but he should at least show that our islanders will be given fair treatment by him. I have no doubt he can look at this matter. Will the Minister of State address those points?

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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On the first question relating to the meetings I had with the island communities prior to this tendering process, the message was loud and clear that they wanted to keep their air service, and I ensured there was a protection in place to keep it. To repeat again, once I gave permission or the green light to the OGP to take charge of this process, I was outside that process. Senator Healy-Eames would be the first to tell me if a politician was interfering in an independent process. She would tell me I should not be involved in it. I came into politics in 1999, a time when there was tribunals about this and that where politicians did get involved in processes. It is important to make that statement.

I spent a wonderful time on the Aran Islands a number of years ago. As a politician and as Minister of State with special responsibility for the islands, I wanted in the first 12 months of my tenure to go to the islands I had never visited. I had never been to Sherkin Island, off the coast of Cork, or Bere Island, where I had a wonderful experience. I had never been to Tory Island, but I have been there now. I have an outstanding invitation to Inishbofin, where there was an issue with bus transportation services. We sorted that issue and I would like to acknowledge the leadership shown on the island. I look forward to going to the Aran Islands and to the ongoing conversations and communications that need to happen. I appreciate Senator Healy-Eames's giving of the space to do that, but I am also conscious of the fact that the end of the month is near.

I would like once again to acknowledge agus m'aitheantas a ghabháil don cheannasaíocht chumasach ar na hoileáin. Chuala mé go raibh na cruinnithe éagsúla ar na hoileáin iontach dínithe. Chuala mé fosta go bhfuil an cumarsáid atá ar siúl idir an comhairle contae agus na daoine sa Teach seo agus sa Teach eile iontach dearfach agus go bhfuil cumarsáid oscailte ann. Chuala mé an díospóireacht agus cím na deacrachtaí atá ann. Tá cuid mhór deacrachtaí ann ó thaobh achan rud ar na hoileáin idir pholasaithe éagsúla agus eile. Ba mhaith liom a chur in iúl agus caithfear a chur in iúl arís m'aitheantas don obair chruaidh atá á dhéanamh ag na daoine san OGP. Ba orthu a raibh an dúshlán maidir leis an bpróiseas tairisceana. Tá an próiseas fós beo agus sin an fáth nach bhfuil mé ábalta cur isteach air.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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Caithfidh an tAire Stáit a bheith cúramach not to hide too much behind the official process while in the meantime leaving the islanders feeling distraught. Now is the time to visit the Aran Islands. Is anois an t-am ceart.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Cím é sin agus tuigim an tábhacht agus an ceangal liomsa mar Aire Stáit na Gaeltachta. Tá dualgas ollmhór orm ó thaobh na hoileáin de. Táim anseo agus tuigim go bhfuil an dualgas seo orm agus go bhfuil ról tábhachtach agam ó thaobh mhuintir na n-oileán. I take my position very seriously and I understand that I have a specific responsibility in the Department. I ask today that the OGP and my officials are allowed to have that important conversation. New information is coming through and time is required, but I am conscious that the service to the island is key, that the current contract is coming to an end at the end of the month and that there is a need for leanúnachas or continuity of service after 1 October.