Air and sea search-and-rescue cover has been extended on the north-west coastline, with the commissioning of a medium-range helicopter service at Sligo yesterday.
The Sikorsky S-61 is to be flown by Air Corps crews from Sligo airport during daylight hours for the summer months. It is expected that the service will be provided on a 24-hour basis from October.
The initiation of the new service by the Air Corps marks the end of a chapter for Finner military base in Co Donegal, where Alouette helicopters have been deployed since 1973. A search-and rescue base using short-range Dauphin helicopters was established at Finner over a decade ago. The last Dauphin duty crew attached to the Finner base bid farewell to the Army's 28th Battalion and flew south across the bay to Sligo airport.
All-weather rescue cover resumed at Waterford last month for the first time since the Tramore crash. The Waterford helicopter will work between Courtown and Cork and offshore of this area and it will cover the busy passenger ferry and air routes. It will also be on call for mountain rescue and inland waterways.
During a visit to view the new service last week, the Minister of State for the Marine, Mr John Browne, announced that all Irish Coast Guard helicopters would be fitted with defibrillators, vacuum mattresses and electronic monitoring equipment.
Capt Liam Kirwan, director of the Coast Guard, said that Ireland now had one of the best air rescue services in the world with the initiation of the Sligo base.