Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by my officials that, following communication with Deputy Howlin's office, the focus of this question has been clarified and has been confirmed to relate to my statement in response to PQ 20106/ 24 that; "a Civil Military Project Team comprising Officials from my Department and the Air Corps has been actively working on the delivery of this project and they are being supported by an external aviation expert Altea, with legal support being provided by the Office of the Chief State Solicitor. The Project Team will evaluate the tender documents and will make recommendations for approval once the various stages of the procurement process have been completed."

The project team in question is made up of a small team of Department officials from Procurement and Acquisitions Branch led by an official of Assistant Principal grade, working together with a small team of Air Corps members drawn from a breadth of experienced personnel with responsibility for the provision of the Ministerial Air Transport Service, including aviation safety, pilot and engineering expertise and led by a member of Lieutenant Colonel rank.

This team was solely formed to deliver the project to procure the replacement MATS jet aircraft, and does not represent the creation of a new branch within the Department of Defence.

I trust this answers the Deputies question.