A new operating system set to be brought in place at the Coast Guard base in County Sligo has been delayed due to safety risks.
According to RTÉ News the base, which is where the Rescue 118 helicopter operates from, has had to delay a transition to a brand new search and rescue helicopter operating system.
It’s as a result of a new operator winning the Government contract to operate Ireland’s search and rescue bases.
UK company Bristow Helicopters won a 10-year, €670 million contract in 2023 to take over the country’s airborne search and rescue service.
However the transition from prior operator CHC Ireland to the Bristow systems has not gone smoothly according to RTÉ News.
They are reporting that, according to former head of the Irish Coast Guard Chris Reynolds, members of the Coast Guard were given just three months of training before the new systems were set to go live in February – the launch date for that new system has now been pushed back to the end of April in Sligo to allow for 24/7 search and rescue coverage to continue.
Safety concerns also resulted in the date being pushed back, with Mr Reynolds telling RTÉ News that there has also been an increase in creeping accidents for staff training on the new operating system.
