The Government has agreed to buy another helicopter so Air Corps pilots can increase their training time for flying the Garda helicopter.
The announcement follows the report into last May's near-fatal accident, when an Air Corps pilot lost control of the Garda helicopter while providing security for Mrs Hillary Clinton during her visit to the west.
One of the problems identified in the air-accident report was that there was insufficient training time for Air Corps pilots. The report recommended that a second aircraft be acquired.
The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, announced yesterday that another Squirrel helicopter was being purchased "for the purpose of pilot training".
The Garda Air Support Unit has been seeking Government approval to staff its helicopters with civilian pilots, following last May's accident.
A dispute over implementation of new precautionary measures on the Garda helicopter has escalated tensions between the Garda and Air Corps in recent months.
Written requests by four Air Corps commanders to be taken off search-and-rescue duty with Dauphin helicopters have been forwarded to the Minister for Defence.
The row between the Garda and Air Corps involves implementation of the key recommendation by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU), on foot of the May incident.
Following an investigation into this incident, the AAIU advised that targets should be tracked in future from the right-hand side of the aircraft.
The Garda has maintained that it will continue to track from the left-hand side. Air Corps sources have said this is akin to trying to look out of the left-hand side of a right-hand drive car.
It is understood that the aircraft may be modified to facilitate both the pilots and the Garda observers at the rear. However, the helicopter is excluded from flying in areas where there is no "ambient" city light. Thus, it has been largely unable to respond to a resurgence in rural crime at night.
The impasse has contributed to growing tensions between the Garda and the Air Corps over the operation of the air wing. The Garda Air Support Unit maintains it would prefer civilian pilots.
The fact that the Squirrel helicopter has not been made available for Air Corps training is also a cause for dissatisfaction.