Air traffic control personnel at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel are set to be offered a pay boost in an effort to tackle serious staff shortages and retention issues.
Operating hours at the airport in southwest Co Dublin have been reduced significantly due to a lack of air traffic controllers.
Take-off and landing operations do not take place between the hours of 8pm and 8am, including at the weekend.
Rescue, medical and surveillance services have been impacted by the changes.
Air traffic controllers at Baldonnel are needed for the management and control of military and other emergency aircraft from Casement Aerodrome.
It is used by the Defence Forces, An Garda Síochána, foreign military aircraft in transit and to host State and VIP flights.
Air ambulance services, which transport organs and critical patients, and maritime surveillance have been restricted due to the reduced hours.
A Garda spokesperson said the limited hours at Baldonnel has "no current impact on the operation of Garda helicopters".
"Based on operational requirements, the Garda Air Support Unit (GASU) can deploy from a number of facilities," the spokesperson said.
It is understood that GASU has been using Weston Airport as an alternative.
'Big step forward outside of normal processes' - Tánaiste
Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris said "Government was taking a big step forward somewhat outside of normal processes" to support the recruitment of air traffic personnel at Casement Aerodrome.
Mr Harris said "in return" for this, he needed "to see Defence Forces leadership put in place the reforms they need to, to ensure that there is a constant pipeline in terms of people being recruited into and retained in the Defence Forces, particularly in the Air Corps".
Mr Harris said that he was "confident" that this would happen, and that he had been talking to the new Defence Forces' Chief of Staff Rossa Mulcahy this morning.
"This is a partnership, Government taking a step forward today in terms of a service commitment payment, recognising people who have long service in the Air Corps that we want to retain... but in return there are a number of other recommendations that the Defence Forces need to lead on operationally."
Mr Harris said that Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel was "not just a place of work, it's not just an air strip, it is a national strategic asset of importance" and that making sure it could function on a 24-hour basis was a "key priority".
Under the proposals, which had been called for by military management, a 'Service Commitment Scheme' that is currently availed of by Air Corps pilots will be extended to air traffic control personnel which could increase pay by thousands of euro.
It comes as fears grow that more air traffic controllers could leave their jobs soon.
According to a working group, established in 2021 to identify options to ensure long-term sustainability of air traffic control services at Baldonnel, 32 personnel are needed in the air traffic control unit for the service to work efficiently.
This is the third time Baldonnel has been impacted by staff shortages since 2010. In 2016, hours of operation were reduced to 8am to 6pm from Monday to Friday.
Former Air Corps Officer Kevin Phipps said that the reduced hours could have significant impact.
"Typically you would get a call at night time, when on standby, and you'd rush in to Baldonnel and scramble the aircraft to fly a sick child over to the UK or to provide top cover to the coast guard.
"So it is vitally important. Some aircraft can operate from other airfields [but] obviously that introduces administrative and logisitical difficulties for crews based in Baldonnel," he said.
The pilot, who spent 16 years at the Defence Forces, said that he welcomes the initiative but warned that this is not the first time there has been problems with staffing.
"This is actually the third time that we've seen a collapse in air traffic staffing levels in Baldonnel. So it is vitally important that we see this scheme introduced," he told RTÉ News.
"If we see a further reduction in the numbers we could see potentially a complete collapse in service and also a loss of ability to regenerate staff in the future," he added.
Additional reporting by Laura Fletcher
