Government plans to replace Air Corps search-and-rescue with a private contract have been delayed, and the new service is not expected for several more months.
The Department of the Marine sad yesterday that negotiations were being finalised on a contract for the north-west rescue base in Sligo, and it was expected to have the project in place by the spring.
However, no date has been set for the takeover from the Air Corps.
The delay has caused uncertainty among existing Air Corps crew at their last remaining rescue base in Sligo.
Pilots and crew who had only recently moved to the north-west to run the upgraded medium-range helicopter rescue service were told in December that they would be transferred back to Dublin in January.
The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, cited concern for fishermen's lives in his decision to pull the Air Corps out of search-and-rescue after 40 years of service.
Mr Smith said he had been informed that CHC, the company which provides medium-range search-and-rescue to the Irish Coast Guard on the east, south-east and west coasts at Dublin, Waterford and Shannon, could take over the north-west base at the end of January on a 12-hour basis. This would then be upgraded to 24-hour cover by March.
A spokesman for the Minister said yesterday that the decision had already been taken, and any delay was now a matter for the Department of the Marine.
The Minister referred to a variety of problems within the Air Corps as the main reason for his move, including an incidence of "blue flu" at the north-west base.
Last October some 17 winching staff were informed that they were being redeployed from the north-west after a substantial proportion of staff reported sick during the summer.
PDFORRA, which had been handling a pay claim for the winching crews, attributed the incidence of illness to a "hostile and difficult working environment, with harassment and related stress".
However, one of the 17 staff remained in Sligo, and the Air Corps had trained a second winchman to provide limited cover.
Air Corps pilots hoped to have full resumption of 12-hour cover by March, and 24-hour cover later in the year.
However, the training schedule for this was cancelled when the Minister decided to axe the service.
Some €11 million had been spent by the State in training Air Corps pilots for the new medium-range service at Sligo, and establishing the base there. The aircraft was leased from CHC, which now hopes to take over the service.
The Fine Gael defence spokesman, Mr Dinny McGinley TD, said that the situation had left west-coast islanders "in limbo".
Such communities always knew they could rely on the Air Corps for both rescue and for mercy flights, he said.
