Air Corps SAR

So thats the end of the that!. Its a bit Ironic KPMG saying the air corps bid was not crediable considering KPMGs history in audits

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/air-corps-bid-for-rescue-service-was-not-credible-66xrstg9g

EDIT: i did not accuse anyone of wrong doing but I would say if you google KPMG and Scandal there is a long history

Why do the air corps still operate GASU ?

They could easily have the likes of CHC operate GASU from there base dublin airport and if HEMS in athlone turns private like the new southern operator, you could easily free up pilots,crew and aircraft to reform Army Co-Op Squadron

A very well written post from a poster called na grohmit taken from irish military online below:

In 1979 during a Papal visit, we were treated to the sight of the then pope being ferried around this isle by either an Irish Helicopters Bell 212 or a Borrowed S61, escorted by a team of bodyguards being flown on a Puma Borrowed from the West German Border Guard. Marked temporarily with "GARDA" In large letters on the side. For the weekend, having been flown in on the state owned airliner, The Polish head of the Roman Catholic church was ferried around my a fleet of helis never before seen south of the border.

The S61 stayed, getting lots of use delivering crew to the Gas rigs being built off the Cork Coast. Shortly after the Air Corps managed to Lease a Puma too, (Formerly owned by Prince Ras Tafari himself) which in time could have provided the long range SAR tat up to then was being provided by the RAF and RN helicopters from Brawdy, Valley or Chivenor. But it was costly for poor Ireland to run, and having demonstrated its potential during the winter of 81/82, was returned to its owners, and we struggled on with Daytime SAR provided by the Air Corps in the Alouette 3, and everything else by the UK, or if things were really bad, the US.

In 1984 yet again we were treated to the sight of Ronnie Reagan being ferried around this primitive isle in massive helicopters. Things we couldn't afford obviously. We are too poor for that.

The People of the North west, west and south west begged the government to provide a 24 hour SAR service, because waiting for a Heli from wales could be the difference between life and death for an injured fisherman. We'll look into it, said the Govt of the day in their usual cowed expression deep inhale like a mechanic telling you how much that service will cost.

The Air Corps by now had been recognised many times for their expertise in SAR in the worst of conditions. They have a large collection of DSMs and MMGs for rescues well beyond the ability of the Alouette 3. It was clear that given the right tools, they could provide so much more. 2 Pumas were the obvious answer. Super Pumas even. There are books from the early 80s that tell with confidence that the Irish Air Corps was expected to purchase 2 Super Puma for SAR. At the same time the Naval Service were developing Eithne as a design & concept. Initially everyone in the NS (the majority of officer who had trained as cadets witht he RN) knew the RN would be happy to assist us with getting to grips with using a Heli aboard ship, and the ship was designed for a Lynx size heli. The Air Corps would operate it of course.

So 2 Super Puma for SAR, a third for Troop transport, and 2 lynx for the Navy.

Then for reasons unknown to everyone, we went from 3 pumas and 2 lynx to 5 Dauphin, a new, untested french offering from the Nice folk in Marseilles who had been so nice to us when we got Alouettes. Their Test pilot would train our crews (of course he would also use our new ship to develop his own test pilot skills while flight testing the aircraft destined for us).

Dauphin could do everything! SAR, Troop transport, Naval Operations, VIP transport. It was state of the art, with a 5 Screen EFIS, unseen anywhere before that. Middle screen was radar, and all your primary instruments were digitally displayed, instead of having analog dials for direction and altitude/attitude at least (you still had analog dials for the engine metering).

Once the french guy had trained up our pilots, they needed to work up to do SAR in a larger, 2 pilot aircraft. That was priority. Pressure was on to deliver a 24/7/365 service from Baldonnel. An hours flight from the western seaboard, 2 hours flight from the edge of our EEZ.

It was a nice shiny heli that became very popular with Taoiseach & Ministers, who loved to be photographed arriving at their constituency to open a new GAA pitch or Parish hall, or school extension. Problem was this use ate into the availability for other work. Try to keep an aircraft available for SAR, keep pilots current, while at the same time training techs, and maintaining all five.

Lots of promises to keep.

Remember the Families in the west and North west? They have seen these new helis delivering Ballot boxes to the islands at election time, and ferrying the Taoiseach to and from Meetings and were wondering why do they still have to wait an hour for a Rescue heli to arrive from Dublin? Why are the RAF still doing the Long distance jobs? They Demanded one of the Dauphin be based on the West coast.

In 1989 the Govt commissioned a report by an expert group, led by a former Garda Commissioner (I Know) which recommended then the purchase of Medium range helicopters. This was when the Dauphins were barely run in! That September the Government decided to Base a Dauphin at Shannon, and re-introduce the Alouette 3 for Daytime SAR from Baldonnel. Price Waterhouse followed shortly after, recommending the immediate purchase of 4 Medium Range Helicopters for Search & Rescue. In the meantime, in July 1991, the Government decided to engage Irish Helicopters to Provide a Medium Range SAR service from Shannon Airport. Indeed the then Minister for Marine then went so far as to suggest not only would there be an S61 in Shannon (which Irish Helicopters were happy for the Air Corps to use for conversion training if they felt the need to).There would also be a Heli At Finner camp available for SAR and even Cork, when not aboard LE. Eithne. Time passed, the Dauphin that was at Shannon went to Finner, and an Alouette went to Waterford for Daytime SAR.

Happy days. Civvy heli doing the long range work, Air Corps dealing with the Night time short range and some daytime only work on the east and southeast coast. Then the Infamous day when the Dauphin commenced at Waterford. And within 24 hours the sight of the spare Shannon based Civilian heli being detailed to cover this station following the Loss of Dh248.

As we all know the Accident report for Dh248 was pretty damning of the helicopter, the pressure the crews were put under to deliver the service, and soon after many Former and current Air Corps pilots spoke out about how they had been complaining for years about its weakness, but were ignored. It seems when one approached the then minister to relay his dissatisfaction with the aircraft it put an end to the Air Corps doing SAR. The proposed replacement for the Dauphins, the long awaited S92/Cougar/EH101 came to nothing, the money spend elsewhere following irregularities with the tendering process.

Last week the Coast Guard celebrated providing a SAR helicopter from Waterford for 20 years. As we know they provide a 247/365 service with 5 S92 working from 4 bases, at Shannon, the Old Air Corps Hanger, Sligo (because they didn't want to rough it in Finner) Dublin Airport and Waterford. No mention of the lives that were lost that got them there. It seems that all you really needed all along to provide a long range Search and Rescue Heli service on the island was to throw large wads of cash at a private company to do it for you, and as R116 demonstrated, answerable to nobody..

If privatisation of state services and assets is considered Thatcherism, then the Irish Coast Guard Heli service is the most Thatcherite of all.

Where did we suddenly get all this money to allow a private company to buy new aircraft to provide the service to us, aircraft we, the taxpayer will never own? We who were too poor to keep 1 Puma operating.

Why are the DoT so reluctant to allow the Air Corps to operate even one aircraft in SAR?

You will have to send your email to the GOC of the Air Corps to find out?