Politics
Government signs €800m search and rescue helicopter contract with new provider
State awarded contract to UK-based Bristow Limited over current provider CHC Ireland, provoking sharp backlash from the firm
The government has signed a new €800 million search and rescue helicopter contract in the face of opposition from the current operator.
Since 2012, the contract for flying around 800 search-and-rescue missions annually has been outsourced to CHC Ireland, a subsidiary of the US-owned Canadian Helicopter Corporation.
CHC Ireland had bid for the new helicopter search and rescue contract, but the government announced in May that it had selected Bristow Limited, a British firm, as ...