Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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383. To ask the Minister for Defence the extent to which ongoing upgrading of aircraft and IT continues in the Air Corps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1560/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The acquisition of new equipment and technology for the Defence Forces, including the Air Corps, remains a focus for me as Minister for Defence and is a matter that is kept under constant review. The budgetary situation, in the context of the current difficult economic situation, will continue to dictate the level of funding available for new equipment, training and Information Technology Equipment upgrades for the Defence organisation. The development of a new White Paper on Defence is underway. The White Paper will provide the future policy framework for Defence and Defence provision for the next decade. A key part of the development of the White Paper is the consideration of potential challenges to our defence and security environment that may emerge into the future given that such areas can be volatile and unpredictable.

The role of the Air Corps is part of the White Paper deliberations. In addition, the question of proceeding with any replacement aircraft programme for the Air Corps will be considered in tandem with the new White Paper on Defence, the overall equipment requirements of the Defence Forces generally and the funding envelope available in the coming years.

The Air Corps operate a maintenance plan which endeavours to ensure that the maximum number of operational flying hours is available from the current aircraft fleet when most needed. The maintenance of the Air Corps fleet falls into three broad categories: scheduled, unscheduled and routine/daily. The use of Performance Based maintenance contracts assists the Air Corps in keeping downtime of aircraft to the minimum.