Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise to the Senator.

I have emphasised the importance of providing the EAS service because of the benefit it provides to the local community, north, south, east and west. However, I have always stated to military management the importance of the safety of personnel in all areas of its work. It would be totally remiss of me if I did not take my responsibility seriously and think of the safety of personnel. When this came to my attention, I first engaged with the Departments of Health and Defence, the HSE, Air Corps, and military management. Following a recommendation that came out of those talks, we decided to approach the ICRR. We became aware that it had a second helicopter that was not in use. We asked it to provide assistance and it was confirmed to us that it would be able to provide assistance.

People might ask why this time of the year. There is a simple reason. Daylight hours are at their shortest and the statistics from recent years show that this is one of the quietest times, when we are least able to fly because of inclement weather conditions, including rain, wind, fog or whatever. A decision was made to do it because it would have the least impact on the citizens that I believed would be affected. Now that the ICRR is in place, this service will be as good as the service in the past. The only difference is the colour of the helicopter and, without being flippant, I do not think anyone will question that.

It will be based in Roscommon. If anybody has any understanding, they will know why it is not based at Custume Barracks in Athlone. That is a military installation. I confirm to the House the next four months expire, on 1 March 2020, this service will be back on a permanent footing.I have never hidden behind the fact that we have challenges when it comes to pilots. That is one of the reasons that we asked the independent pay commission to look at the service commitment of the pilots, which was abolished back in 2008, and not by a Fine Gael-led Government, because of the economic downturn the country was going through at that time. The independent pay commission recommended that the service commitment scheme would be reintroduced and it has been under the high-level implementation plan that was put in place by the Government.

A question was asked about the EAS allowance. A claim had been made by the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO. That is being dealt with in the appropriate channels and it would be improper of me to comment on that here tonight because it is going through the appropriate channels. On all occasions, I have taken the military advice I have received. This is a temporary interruption and will be limited to four days per month over a period of four months. The EAS will continue and actions being taken now will ensure the long-term viability of the EAS provided by the Air Corps. I want to be very clear that the whole focus is returning the EAS to full capacity. The loss of 16 days of the EAS is regrettable, as I have stated, but it is necessary from the perspective of safety and governance.

There will be a training surge for new and additional pilots to service the EAS. We have the contingency plan in place with the ICRR and the Irish Coast Guard, which will co-operate fully with the National Ambulance Service. Two officers have recently been recommissioned. I am absolutely delighted that those people have come back in from the private sector and want to come back in as pilots with the Air Corps. People would accept that, of course, those two pilots who have come back in must undergo training and that is ongoing at the moment. I do not think anybody would accept that someone who is recommissioned in the Air Corps would reassume the duties they had six or seven years previously. That would be irresponsible of military management and the General Officer Commanding, GOC, in the Air Corps. Training must be gone through for people who have re-entered the Air Corps.

I hope I have outlined the issue. The most important thing is that lives are not being put at risk. There is an equally good service with the ICRR as what was provided by the Air Corps. I commend all the military personnel, pilots, personnel on the planes and paramedics involved with the EAS. These people have saved lives and will continue to do so. We are going to reassure the general public that this service will be back up and running from 1 March, except for four days in November, December, January and February. It would be irresponsible of me if we had taken this action in other months when there would have been longer flying days, better weather and everything like that.

Senator Humphreys asked why this service was not being provided at night time. There are safety reasons and safety concerns about landing, as pilots are aware, that must be taken into account.

It is absolutely fantastic that the ICRR is willing to step up to the plate. I compliment that organisation. There is a huge amount of voluntary organisations that run ambulances and helicopters right across Europe, including the UK, Wales, Scotland and all over the place. There are plenty of examples of them, so we are not unique. It is great that people appreciate our people and communities coming together to provide this service for the betterment of the people and their communities.