The Minister for the Marine, Mr Ahern, is due to meet officials from his Department soon to discuss the location for the promised 24-hour, search-and-rescue helicopter base for the south-east.
Although Waterford Airport has been given a late reprieve, it is understood that the Irish Coast Guard will be seeking firm guarantees before recommending that the helicopter be located there.
Waterford had been first choice for the 24-hour service, but a January 1st start-up date had to be deferred when it emerged that the airport was facing closure over the withdrawal of Euroceltic Airways.
Euroceltic has now announced that it will continue its service to London, on a thrice-weekly basis until March, when it may revert to a daily schedule.
The Irish Coast Guard had been examining Cork as one of several alternatives to Waterford. The 24-hour service aims to fulfil a long-standing commitment to restore the all-weather service in the region after the crash of the Air Corps Dauphin helicopter with the loss of four airmen in July 1999.
Since the crash the Air Corps has provided a 12-hour service with an Alouette, but has lacked the equipment to provide all-weather cover.
A 24-hour contract was offered to CHC Helicopters, which already runs the Irish Coast Guard's medium-lift rescue services in Shannon and Dublin.
Meanwhile, pilots at the sole remaining Air Corps rescue base in the north-west have been trained to use a Sikorsky S-61 medium-lift helicopter, leased until 2005, when new helicopters were due to arrive.
However, the contract for these ran into a political row and a legal challenge and was eventually cancelled last year.
