Just before Christmas the Government, through the Department of Transport, published a preliminary pre-qualification questionnaire for the national air-sea rescue service. The tender suggests a reduction of the helicopter bases from four to three and that the applicant companies can propose their own base configurations. This is creating extraordinary unease in the south east in respect of capability in the maritime space and our ability to transfer cardiac patients from University Hospital Waterford during the 129 hours per week when our catheterisation lab is closed. Members of the regional group along with Independent Senators in the Upper House have placed a motion to the Order Paper. Will the Taoiseach make space next week on the Order of Business for a debate on the shortcomings of this contract? Allowing this ten-year contract tender to proceed as presently described could significantly damage the capability of this critical service over the next decade.

Quite a number of Deputies, including the Ministers of State, Deputies Butler and James Browne, have been in touch with me on this issue and the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Naughton, is also dealing with it. An absolute minimum number of aircraft is specified to be on standby for coastguard aviation tasking. That is a minimum requirement and bidders can propose more. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, are very conscious of the overall needs, geographically and regionally, and all Deputies and Senators from the entire south east, including Deputy Shanahan, have been in touch with them. I do not want to speculate on the final procurement specifications or the outcome of the process but we do hear what people are saying to us on this issue.