The helicopter emergency ambulance service operated by the Air Corps will remain at its existing base in Athlone permanently, Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris has said.
Mr Harris on Friday opened a new €1.4 million hangar facility for the emergency aeromedical service at Custume Barracks in Athlone.
The Irish Times reported earlier this week that an official review of the emergency helicopter service found no agreement on a long-term location could be reached between parties involved in the project.
The review suggests that defence personnel wanted to look at alternatives to Custume Barracks, but health service personnel wanted it to remain in Athlone.
Doctors initiate legal action over State’s transgender policy
How U2 drummer Larry Mullen jnr avoids conflict with neighbours: buy up all surrounding houses
‘I caught my husband masturbating with a male friend but he says it’s nothing’
Rory McIlroy’s spine-tingling third round puts him in control of his Masters destiny
The review, which was completed in December 2024, states that defence stakeholders argued that continued operation from Custume Barracks could “only be facilitated as a short-term, fallback position during the interim development phase of a permanent base elsewhere”.
Speaking at the opening of the new hangar on Friday, Mr Harris said he was aware of the “back and forth” over the years in relation to a permanent location.
“But this is the home here in Custume Barracks, the proud home of the service,” he said.
He said the service would remain in Athlone on a permanent basis.
The Minister said: “This is a service that truly saves lives, and as I said here today, we can get lost in acronyms and numbers and years. What we know is that there are more than 4,000 patients in Ireland that have benefited from the emergency aeromedical service over the years.
“And there isn’t a county in Ireland that hasn’t benefited. I think the decision to establish it in 2012 has served Ireland well.
“And when you read the case studies, as I have today, [including] of the young child with the burns injuries, who was in an urgent rush to get to Crumlin hospital... We live in a country that is very dispersed in terms of our population [and] it is absolutely vital that no matter where somebody chooses to live in Ireland, that that person has an ability to get the access to the best medical care as quickly as possible. And that’s what this is about.”
Lt Col David Browne, commanding officer of the helicopter wing in the Irish Air Corps, said the shelter that had been in place in Athlone for the service has passed its sell-by date.
“It was leaking. It didn’t provide any insulation, so the aircraft had condensation on it in the mornings when we took it out. There was only very limited maintenance [that] could be performed inside the hangar, and it was quite small. This new hangar, is fully insulated [and] fully waterproof. It has a crane inside it so we can perform heavier maintenance inside the hangar.
“We can respond to accidents and casualties or people with heart attacks and strokes from rural locations, but sometimes we don’t necessarily go to the nearest hospital. If it is somebody, for example, with a major head injury, we go straight to Dublin and bypass the [local] hospitals, which dramatically decreases the amount of transit time that those patients have to endure.”
