Vol. 577 No. 4
84 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the air and sea rescue helicopter services which are available to Counties Wicklow, Wexford and Waterford; the locations at which the helicopters are based; the age of each; if he has satisfied himself with the service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29409/03]
The Irish Coast Guard maintains 24 hour all weather helicopters at Dublin and Waterford Airports. This enables full search and rescue services to be provided throughout the east and south eastern coasts and adjoining sea areas. The coast guard also maintains a similar 24 hour at Shannon Airport and this is available as a back up service to the eastern part of the country should the need arise. Each helicopter is available at 15 minutes readiness between 0730 and 2100 and at 45 minutes notice outside of these hours. I am satisfied that the arrangements in place are appropriate to the search and rescue requirements of the counties in question.
The Dublin and Waterford helicopters were manufactured in 1977 and 1963, respectively. The manufacture date is not of relevance to the performance of the aircraft and its suitability for search and rescue work in that the aircraft is subject to a maintenance programme approved by the Irish Aviation Authority, based on requirements generated from the manufacturer. The approved maintenance programme involves replacement of all critical components at prescribed intervals. The basic structure of the helicopter is also subject to ongoing inspection at prescribed intervals. This ranges from a daily visual inspection regime up to a major inspection that entails completely stripping the airframe of all components and external paint to allow an in-depth inspection of the entire structure.
