On Tuesday, an amendment to the Order of Business was made to bring the Minister of State with responsibility for Defence to the Chamber to address the emergency air ambulance service issue. He came and when I asked five questions, he answered none. This is contrast to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, who was here yesterday. He was unable to answer questions because of time constraints but he undertook to provide answers individually to people. It is simply not good enough that a Minister of State brought to this House to deal with an emergency refuses to deal with it or answer questions.

Today's edition of The Irish Times carries a letter from a retired captain, Seán McCarthy, who wholeheartedly refutes the position taken by the Minister of State on the recent decision to scale back the air ambulance service. He makes a number of important points. When the service was set up in 2012, military leadership was indicating that pilot retirements were having an adverse effect on the Air Corps. As we well know, this has worsened over the years with the loss of experience aviators, technicians, and air traffic controllers. The squadron that has kept the emergency air ambulance running since 2012 is down to two crews when it is supposed to have ten. Nevertheless, in 2015, the White Paper on Defence stated the emergency air ambulance service should be made permanent and sustainable, and a project group was to be set up by the Department but this has never happened.

I am sorry to interrupt the Senator but we had a debate on this the other day.

I called for a debate but the Minister of State did not engage by providing answers. This is an important public health matter. It is vital.

Was he not present?

He was present but did not answer the questions and has made no effort whatever to come back and address the five questions I put to him. It is not good enough.

It is probably appropriate for the Commencement debate or another debate. I am not sure it is relevant on the Order of Business.

There is no point in calling for a debate with a Minister of State who refuses to answer questions.

I cannot judge what he answered or did not answer.

It is in black and white.

A debate was called for and he was present for it. He spoke in that debate.

Okay.

The letter I am adverting to is topical because it is published in The Irish Times today. We did not have this information.

The Senator is looking at it as a fresh item.

This is fresh information from a captain who retired from the Air Corps who flew the emergency air ambulance helicopter for 12 months.

We will hear the Leader in response.

Absolutely. This captain says that asking the Irish Coast Guard to double up is merely a sticking plaster solution and that the sticking plaster solutions of the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe, are being applied to a life-and-death scenario. What is most concerning about the letter is that it is written by this captain, a former emergency air ambulance helicopter pilot, who retired after 16 years' service. It is literally from the horse's mouth. He believes, as do I, that to shrug off as an unforeseen consequence the civilian market demand for Air Corps pilots is insulting. I stand in support of the air ambulance crews. I stand in support of the people of Roscommon and the midlands. I stand in support of retired Captain Seán McCarthy. What has gone on is unacceptable and if the Minister of State comes into this House again, he might at least do us the courtesy of answering the questions. If he is stuck for time, he can write to us individually and provide answers.