SPEECH BY THE MINISTER FOR DEFENCE,MR. MICHAEL SMITH, T.D.,
AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF HANGAR NO. 5
IN CASEMENT AERODROME.
Baldonnel 10 November 2000
Chief of Staff, Secretary General at the Department of Defence, General Officer Commanding the Air Corps, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to be in Baldonnel this morning to officially open this new hangar.
The completion of this building is another step in the context of the overall development and modernisation of the Defence Forces. I am glad to have this opportunity of restating the Government's total commitment to continuing the process of major investment in equipment and infrastructure for the Defence Forces which means that more money than ever before is being made available for these purposes. Since 1997, and including this building, more than £8.5 million has been spent here in Baldonnel on refurbishing and upgrading buildings. The construction of new transport workshops has just commenced and will cost more than £800,000. In addition, the design of a new Headquarters for the 3rd Support Wing has just commenced and I expect construction to get underway in the third quarter of 2001. The estimated cost for that building is £1.5 million and will bring the total expenditure on infrastructure in Baldonnel to almost £11 million in 5 years. In the area of equipment, progress is being made in the acquisition of medium range helicopters with six firms responding to the first stage of the tender competition. These are currently being evaluated by a civil/military project team, assisted by an independent consultant, and those firms whose aircraft meet the basic requirements will be invited to participate in the final stage of the tender competition. While the rules of procurement will have to adhered to I will ensure that no time is lost in moving the process forward and taking possession of suitable aircraft at the first opportunity. I would like to express my gratitude to all those involved in this building project. It is a building that I have seen grow by the month on my visits to and through Baldonnel. I want to thank the Corps of Engineers for their management of this project - particularly Comdt. Dave McGonnell, Architect; Comdt. Des O'Connor, Mechanical Engineer and Mr. Patrick O'Neill, Quantity Surveyor. I would like also to thank the staff in the Contracts Branch of my Department. Special thanks, however, must go the main contractor, John Paul Construction Ltd., who must be complimented for the efficient manner in which they undertook the building operation and for the overall high standard of work carried out within the contracted timeframe. I would also like to mention the nominated sub-contractors - James Likely Ltd. (Mechanical Services); Update Technology Ltd. (Electrical Services); William Cox Ltd. (Windows); Skelly Doors (Hangar Doors); Automatic Sprinkler Company Ltd., (Fire Protection); Roclad Ltd. (Roofing and Cladding); and finally Andrew Mannion Engineering Ltd. (Structural Steel). This new building will be a tremendous asset and a welcome addition to the facilities in Baldonnel. The building has a gross floor area of 4,718 square metres. This area we are standing in comprises 2,817 square metres. It will house the larger aircraft of the Air Corps fleet as well as provide office accommodation for the Headquarters of the No. 1 Support Wing which includes the mission support facility responsible for tracking the maritime patrol aircraft. I would also like to mention the graphic that we see here on the back wall. I want to commend Comdt. Dave McGonnell and Mr. Donal O'Brien of John Paul Construction for approaching the National College of Art and Design with the idea of running a competition among their students to design a suitable artistic display. I understand that the size of the display area, a wall 60 metres long, really grabbed the students' attention. They were asked to depict the history of flight and movement and I think we all agree that the winning entry has captured that theme. The students put a lot of work into the project and John Paul generously sponsored the project. The modernisation of facilities and the improvement in accommodation in military barracks contribute in a very positive way to the morale and esprit-de-corps of the Defence Forces. With new equipment coming on line all the time the future for the Air Corps, and the Defence Forces generally, looks bright. I now declare the new building officially open.
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