Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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269. To ask the Minister for Defence the number of occasions on which the Air Corps Helicopters responded to emergencies in each of the past five years to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3271/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The involvement of the Defence Forces in responding to emergencies arises from requests for assistance from agencies of the State in an Aid to Civil Authority (ATCA) role. The Framework for Major Emergency Management sets out the structure for enabling the Principal Response Agencies (An Garda Síochána, the Health Service Executive and Local Authorities) to prepare for, and make a coordinated response to, major emergencies and the Defence Forces respond within that Framework. Representation on the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning, by both my Department and the Defence Forces, also ensures the fullest coordination and cooperation in the event of an emergency. The table below sets out the ATCA helicopter missions conducted by the Air Corps in the period 2011 to 2014.

*The above figures do not include Air Corps assistance to the HSE for Inter-hospital transfers or Emergency Aereomedical Support.

The data relating to 2015 is currently being compiled and will be provided to the Deputy as soon as possible.