The Department of Defence has said that provision of crash-rescue facilities at military air bases is the responsibility of Air Corps command and not a matter for the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith.
Responsibility for purchasing military equipment has been delegated, and the Air Corps has had full control of its budget for the past two years, a spokesman for the Department said yesterday.
A fire tender will be delivered to Finner camp in Co Donegal next year, and a tender is also on order for Baldonnel, the spokesman added.
The Department was responding to a report in The Irish Times last week about the lack of crash-rescue facilities at Finner camp and several other air bases. The Air Corps intends to move the Dauphin helicopter at the north-west air-sea rescue base in Finner to an alternative location temporarily, pending installation of a fire tender. Both Carrickfin in Co Donegal and Sligo are being considered by the defence wing.
The Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO) contends the safety issue is one for the Minister and raised it with Mr Smith at a meeting six months ago. Commdt Brian O'Keeffe, secretary-general of RACO, said yesterday that the organisation had sought an immediate order from the Minister to speed up the provision of safety facilities. Instead, the Minister had simply sought an assurance from senior military officers on safety at Air Corps installations.
The new Air Corps organisation drawn up in the wake of the White Paper on Defence had not allowed for sufficient personnel for the tender, and this was also an issue that had to be resolved, Commdt O'Keeffe said.
