A 24-hour search-and-rescue service with a replacement Dauphin helicopter will be restored to Waterford, the Minister for Defence has promised.
Mr Smith said it would be a tribute to the men who were killed in Friday's crash to continue the service.
The four died in the first night-time operation from Waterford regional airport. The Dauphin they were flying had been relocated to Waterford from Baldonnel on Thursday, to give the south-east coast a 24-hour rescue service.
The aircraft replaced an Alouette helicopter which had been stationed in Waterford a year ago as part of improved search-and-rescue cover, but was capable of daytime flying only. A Defence Forces spokesman, Capt Tom Clonan, said the lost Dauphin would be replaced by an Alouette while the operational situation at Waterford was being reviewed.
But while no official announcement has been made, Mr Smith told The Irish Times that another Dauphin would be stationed in Waterford to bring about a resumption of the 24-hour service, which the Government and the Defence Forces had been committed to providing for some time.
Whatever had to be done to make this come about would be done, he said, whether it involved purchasing a new helicopter for the area or relocating a Dauphin from elsewhere in the State. It is likely to be months, however, before the night-time service can be restored. Mr Smith pointed out that it was not simply a matter of replacing the lost aircraft; there was also a considerable investment to be made in producing crews of the calibre and experience of the men who were killed on Friday.
The helicopter's pilots, Capt Dave O'Flaherty (30), from Tullamore, Co Offaly, and Capt Mick Baker (28), from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, were both qualified flight instructors with more than 20 years' service in the Air Corps between them.
While the crash investigation proceeds, the Defence Forces' other Dauphin helicopters will remain in service, Capt Clonan said.
