The bid for the South East to retain its search and rescue base steps up today.
As we outlined here on KCLR last week, there are fears the R117 service at Waterford Airport could be cut under a new tender process that ends next week.
The contract suggests a possible reduction in the number of national bases, from four to three.
South Kilkenny Councillor Pat Dunphy raised the issue on KCLR last week (see here) with a Kilkenny team leader with the South Eastern Mountain Rescue Association,n Liam McCabe, then told on air of the value of the service to his crew and the work they do.
While Independent Waterford TD, Matt Shanahan, says it’s vital the south east retains its helicopter; “It does a huge amount of recovery and rescue in the mountains and on top of that we have a lot of off-shore wind being discussed, the ferry services out of Rosslare are up by almost 400% and in actual fact the Rescue 117 service is busier by about 20% this year so it is absolutely vital, it is also the only patient transfer vehicle out of Waterford hospital to Cork and Dublin for heart attack patients”.
Meanwhile, here’s the response issued to KCLR by the Department of Transport:
“The existing helicopter service contract with CHCI commenced on 1st July 2012 for a period of 10 years, with an option to extend for a further 3 years. The contract has since been extended to July 2024.
On the 27th of July 2021, the Government agreed to commence the formal procurement process for a new Coast Guard aviation service. The decision was based on a detailed appraisal and business case prepared in accordance with the Public Spending Code. The procurement process is being undertaken in line with the Government Decision of 27th July 2021 and with EU procurement law, most notably European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulation 2019 (Statutory Instrument No. 284/2016.)
On 20th of December 2021, the first stage of the process commenced, the release on eTenders of a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) and Response document for candidates to complete. The PQQ sets out certain criteria to determine which Operators have the capacity to perform the contract. The closing date for replies is the 26th of January 2022.
The PQQ states that the minimum requirement is three helicopters and a fixed wing aircraft on standby for Coast Guard aviation tasking. This is a minimum requirement for aircraft on standby, bidders can propose more. The number of bases and their location are not specified, and proposals will be reviewed on their merits in relation to their ability to respond in a timely manner.
To clarify, the information released in the PQQ listed the IRCG’s minimum requirements. A detailed specification will be included in the next stage of the competition i.e. when the Request for Tender (RFT) documents are released to the market by end of March 2022.
The indicative date for award of contract is March 2023.”
