Vol. 429 No. 3
146 Mr. Barrett asked the Minister for Defence the steps, if any, he intends to take to improve the capacity of the Defence Forces to carry out rescue missions and to give assistance to the civil authorities in emergencies; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Defence Forces render assistance in emergencies at the request of the appropriate civil authorities and will continue to do so. Procedures are laid down whereby the local authorities may call on the Defence Forces to provide assistance in emergencies such as accidents, blizzards, fires, flooding and spillage of dangerous substances. In 1992, the Defence Forces responded positively to all requests for assistance. These included assistance to the Bosnian refugees and to homeless male adults at St. Brendan's Hospital.
The Defence Forces have the following resources dedicated for search and rescue purposes:
—an Alouette III helicopter with crew, located at Baldonnel for daylight search and rescue operations.
—a Dauphin SA 365F helicopter with crew, located at Finner Camp, Co. Donegal, on 24 hour call for search and rescue.
In addition, other helicopters and fixed wing aircraft may be made available for search and rescue missions.
The Defence Forces carried out 140 search and rescue missions in 1992 saving 58 lives.
The question of providing the Defence Forces with an expanded search and rescue capacity is under consideration.
