THE Air Corps may fare badly in the Government's latest consultancy review, while the case in favour of the Naval Service is incontrovertible, according to the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers (RACO).
On the eve of its annual delegate conference, RACO has expressed "concern" about the position of the Air Corps in the Price Waterhouse reviews, ordered by the Minister for Defence and the Marine, Mr Barrett, last June.
Already threatened by a proposal to commercialise east coast search and rescue, the Air Corps is primarily concerned with the issue of retaining pilots in the service.
RACO has expressed optimism about the Naval Service, given that a single agency for fishery protection, drug patrols, search and rescue and pollution is far more cost effective than contracting out certain functions - the latter policy said to be favoured by the Department. The recent Japanese arrests, which netted fines of £800,000 and also involved a humanitarian dimension, illustrate the "multi-tasking" capability of the service, RACO says.
The organisation maintains that there is a considerable gap in cover this island is exposed as the most poorly policed sea area in Europe. Britain has over 300 vessels to carry out similar functions, while Belgium, with only 1,500 miles of coastline - compared to Ireland's 2,700 - has 31 vessels.
In its detailed submission to Price Waterhouse, RACO supports the Naval Service request for 12 ships, and for 1.5 crews per ship. It has also recommended that naval promotions be independent of those in the Army.
A severe shortage of bridge watch keepers is restricting ships' operational capabilities, RACO says. It is also critical of the "ad hoc" relationship with the Department of the Marine, which is not defined in any memorandum of understanding - whereas relationship with the Garda and Revenue Commissioners on drugs is. The combination of defence and marine in one ministry has done nothing to improve the situation, RACO maintains.
An anomaly in recognition of qualifications highlights the poor relationship between the two Departments, according to the staff association. The Department of the Marine refuses to recognise time spent at sea on navy ships as a qualification for the certificate of competency for marine engineer officers, whereas Britain does. The British certificate, however, is recognised by the Department of the Marine.
