Irish Helicopters has challenged the views of three former Air Corps pilots in relation to search-and-rescue off the Irish coastline, and the company has described as "totally offensive and inaccurate" the "suggestion" that civilian operators are trying to cut corners on training.
"Personnel who have switched from military to civil search-and-rescue will confirm that the opposite is the case, and that training, like everything else, is fully regulated and audited," Mr Guy Perrem, managing director of Irish Helicopters, said.
In a response to last week's "Out of the West" report on the delay in replacing the Air Corps Dauphin helicopter fleet, Mr Perrem's concern is with the reference to civilian operations, rather than with the central issue raised by the former pilots about the suitability of the Dauphin for the job.
The three retired Air Corps pilots, Capt Paul Hayes, Capt Andy Whelan and Capt Kieran Parker, had expressed alarm at the Government's lack of a sense of urgency about the capabilities of the Dauphin helicopter, over six months after the Tramore, Co Waterford, crash in which four airmen lost their lives.
The short-range helicopter has inadequate fuel endurance, is not suitable for night search-and-rescue off this coastline and is not equipped for a return to base in poor visibility, they said in last week's report.
Air Corps helicopters no longer operate from the rooftop helipad of Government Buildings, because the twin-engine craft has no single engine performance in hover mode. Single-engine relief in the event of failure is only effective when cruising.
In the event of an engine failure when carrying out a rescue, a Dauphin would be forced to crash-land or ditch into the sea, they said. While not wishing to prejudice the official inquiry into Tramore, which is expected to be completed by March, they said many colleagues shared their concerns.
Mr Perrem said the Dauphin was used by the US Coast Guard for coastal work, and was selected by the Air Corps at a time when it was the only agency in the State tasked with providing helicopter search-and-rescue services.
In relation to contracting out medium-range search-and-rescue helicopter cover 10 years ago, Mr Perrem said this made good sense. "Taxpayers get much better value in terms of cost by use of civil as opposed to military provision of the service," he claimed. "The civil contractor will endure considerable penalty for non-performance, whereas there is no real penalty applied to the military.
"Ireland is not alone in using civil operators. The governments of Norway, Spain, Britain and Australia all do, and the US is seriously considering following suit.
"The standards of operation and professionalism of civil search-and-rescue are of the highest order," Mr Perrem emphasised. "Unlike the military, which is self-regulating, civil search-and-rescue operations are subject to standards laid down by the national aviation authority and by the department awarding the contract.
"In addition, civil search-and-rescue is an insured activity and the insurers require the highest standards. There are regular audits, and grave penalties apply to any breach of standards. To the best of my knowledge, no such outside audit regime exists for military operations, either in Ireland or elsewhere."
The Department of Defence said it did not wish to comment on the pilots' claims.