The Department of Defence has said it is still committed to Air Corps involvement in search-and-rescue, despite the decision to cancel the contract to buy up to five new medium-lift helicopters.
Eight Air Corps pilots are engaged in a training programme in Norway on use of the Sikorsky S-61, and one of these medium-lift aircraft will be leased for the north-west rescue base, the Department says. An incentive scheme to retain Air Corps pilots has also been finalised, and a working group is being established to look at alternative ways of acquiring medium-range helicopters
However, it is understood that the announcement to cancel the new helicopter contract, awarded to the US firm Sikorsky, has been greeted with shock at Air Corps headquarters in Baldonnel. The announcement was made while the General Officer Commanding, Brig Gen John O'Brien, was on annual leave.
Also, the pilots assigned to training in Norway had agreed to take out civilian qualifications as part of the lease arrangement, on the basis that this was only a temporary transition to the use of their own medium-lift craft for search-and-rescue.
The leased helicopter will be available from September, under a three-year lease valued at around €15 million, arranged with the Irish Coast Guard. It will be officially on call from Sligo Airport in December, rather than from Finner camp, as it will be on a civilian aviation register. The decision that the military pilots should also take out civilian qualifications obviates the need to upgrade the leased helicopter for military use. Such an upgrade could reduce its resale value, according to aviation sources.
The Department of Defence has declined to comment on calls for the Minister's resignation in the wake of the announcement last Friday. The contract with Sikorsky had not been signed, due to a High Court action taken by a rival bidder, the Franco-German consortium, Eurocopter. The Department has said the Minister's decision, taken with "regret", was made in consultation with the Air Corps, which had indicated that buying eight fixed-wing training aircraft for an estimated €30 million was a higher priority.
However, military sources deny the Air Corps would ever have indicated a preference for training aircraft when replacements for the Dauphin helicopter were such an urgent priority.
Relatives of the four airmen who died in the Dauphin helicopter crash at Tramore, Co Waterford, three years ago told The Irish Times earlier this week that the Minister should step down.
Mr Tony Baker, father of co-pilot Mr Mick Baker who died in Tramore, also said that the file on the new helicopter contract should be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions, given that Eurocopter had been the first choice of an expert working group appointed by the Minister.
