Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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518. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to specify the body responsible for ensuring proper upgrading of navigational equipment on Coast Guard helicopters; and if these upgrades include information on all wind turbines here. [31336/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Following a competitive tender process a contract agreement for search and rescue helicopters was signed in July 2010 between the then Minister for Transport and CHC Ireland DAC. These Helicopters respond to emergencies at sea, inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains. The helicopters are operated by CHC Ireland DAC and the fully qualified crews are employees of CHC Ireland DAC. The helicopter service contract commenced on 1 July 2012 for a period of 10 years.

The contract requires that CHC Ireland Ltd comply with all applicable Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), European Safety Agency (EASA), and International Civil Aviation organisation (ICAO) guidance, regulation, standards and recommended practises.

Officials from my Department have contacted CHC Ireland DAC and they have informed me that anybody who erects a wind turbine above a certain height must apply for planning permission through their local authority. The Local Authority inform the IAA who will then in turn add the information to their aviation maps. These updated maps are then uploaded (as software updates) onto the helicopter navigational systems used by helicopter operators such as CHC Ireland DAC.