Air Corp shortages ‘putting lives at risk in emergencies’

THE Defence Forces have only half the required number of air traffic controllers and three quarters the number of pilots needed to run their life- saving operations, it has emerged.

Independent TD Cathal Berry, formerly the head of the Irish Defence Forces Medical School, told the Irish Daily Mail that the Air Corps are operating at ‘75% for pilots and 50% for air traffic controllers’.

And the shortages will have real life consequences such as not being able to fly people in a medical emergency to hospital, Deputy Berry said.

‘They won’t be able to fly the helicopters when they are needed and they won’t be able to fly the maritime patrol aircraft when needed,’ he added.

‘Those are the consequences. It’s not just about not having people, it is not being able to conduct operations because you don’t have people,’ he said.

The devastating figures emerged from a Dáil question tabled by Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy, which showed that there are 24 pilot and nine air traffic controller vacancies.

‘When Roscommon hospital was closed down back around 2012, the deal was that there was going to be a helicopter in Athlone to fly people [in medical emergencies] to Galway and Dublin. They were on standby 24/7 in Athlone but staffing was a big problem because the pilots aren’t there,’ he explained.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin also admitted to the Dáil last week that the overall strength of the Defence Forces has diminished further this year. Across the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service, the strength is at 8,374, whereas in July last it was 8,724.

The Taoiseach stated: ‘There are issues of both retention in, and recruitment to, the Defence Forces.’