Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not think there was any question that it would be relocated to any other location. The service will be maintained in Athlone. The ICRR helicopter is based in County Roscommon because it is a community service, while Custume Barracks is a military barracks. I hope the Senator understands the reasons we cannot have a community service helicopter operating out of a military barracks. If anyone has given her the idea that the service will be moved, I would appreciate it if she would go back to that person to say the service will continue to be based in Athlone, except for four days in November, December, January and February. It is not regrettable that we have a community service helicopter. It is happening all over Europe. It is a considerable feature in England where community and voluntary organisations provide helicopter ambulance services.I do not see why we should not be able to do that in Ireland as well.

I very much welcome the help and assistance of the Irish Community Rapid Response helicopter. It is a fabulous service in the south of the country and covers a vast region. The service has two helicopters and the helicopter provided out of Roscommon is the second helicopter. The ICRR will continue to operate in the south of the country in addition to the service it provides in Roscommon. While I am not sure exactly from where in Roscommon the service is provided, it is to be very much welcomed that the ICRR came on board. When asked, it was available and willing to assist.

I can confirm to the House that, once the training is provided over the four days per month for the four months of November, December, January and February, it will be back permanently in Custume Barracks, Athlone from 1 March onwards. The service does a fabulous job there and has saved many lives, not just in the midlands or the west, but as far down as my own constituency in County Wexford, where a very important service is provided.

I remind the House there was a lot of pressure over a long number of years to have this service but it was a Fine Gael-led Government that introduced this scheme in 2012 and put it on a permanent footing in 2015, when a memorandum was brought to Government. I want to reaffirm that commitment. While we have our challenges, this service will return to full service from 1 March 2020, apart from four days per month in November, December, January and February, when the ICRR will provide a service for those four-day periods.