A BRITISH helicopter firm has been in talks with the HSE for the past two years with a view to providing air ambulance services in this country.

AN emergency team of Irish consular staff is expected to arrive in Tripoli this morning to help evacuate all remaining Irish nationals wishing to leave Libya amid widespread violence and bloodshed in the North African country.

An Aer Corps Casa plane landed at Tripoli's main international airport this evening to evacuate the 70 or so Irish nationals seeking to leave Libya.

TWINS Hassan and Hussein Benhaffhaf could be home within days to begin leading a normal life.

IRELAND’S miracle twins Hassan and Hussien Benhaffhaf are due to fly home today just six weeks after the successful operation to separate them.

IRELAND’S conjoined twins underwent the first of several tests at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London yesterday ahead of their separation surgery.

THE worsening flood situation in the environs of Limerick city upstream to Parteen Weir will not hit critical levels for another five days, it has emerged.

A preliminary report into the crash of a Aer Corps plane in Co Galway released today says there were no technical defects with the aircraft.

THE Department of Defence failed to inspect two helicopters when it spent €3 million hiring the aircraft which proved unable to carry soldiers for an EU mission in Chad.

A CHARTER plane with 118 passengers and crew on board narrowly avoided crashing into a hotel near Ballymun after its pilot mistook the lights of the 16-storey building for the runway at Dublin Airport.

Search teams off the Co. Galway coast have found the body of a second missing fisherman.

Seven divers have been rescued after they went missing off the coast of Co. Clare.

ONE man’s dream to get Ireland’s first dedicated air ambulance service off the ground has taken a giant leap forward.

UP to two years ago when cystic fibrosis began to overwhelm her, Siobhán Ryan was regarded as one of the best Irish dancers in the east Limerick parish of Pallas.

A BANK has brought a legal action seeking an order requiring an Aer Corps officer and his wife to repay loans of more than €2 million secured on properties allegedly the subject of multiple undertakings by missing solicitor Michael Lynn. The couple were clients of Mr Lynn.

ONE man’s dream to get Ireland’s first dedicated air ambulance service off the ground was launched yesterday.

An Air Corps pilot has died in a place crash in Co Offaly.

A ship involved in RTE's reality TV series 'Cabin Fever' ran aground today.

THERE’LL be plenty of mean machines on display in the RDS next month when the Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition hosts its own version of the television series Robot Wars.

The Aer Corps search and rescue helicopter has airlifted a hospital patient back to his home on Tory Island to allow him to get home in time for Christmas.

Ten new pilots are to be commissioned into the Aer Corps today.

An Aer Corps helicopter has been forced to make an emergency landing near Baldonnell aerodrome in Co Dublin.

A German woman has died in a boating accident in Co Donegal.

Islanders living off the Co Donegal coast will be the first to cast the votes in the general election this morning.

A legal challenge to the Government over the selection of a helicopter contract for the Defence Forces re-opens this morning at the High Court.

The company which lost the bid to provide the Aer Corps with new helicopters has commenced legal action against the Minister for Defence.

The purchase of five Sikorsky helicopters for the Aer Corps may be abandoned and put out to tender for a second time, according to reports.

The southeast is to get a new 24-hour Coastguard helicopter service from July 1.

Gardai searching for a Donegal woman missing since the early hours of New Year’s Day are examining a car discovered at Buncrana pier.

A mission to rescue an injured French fisherman is underway in the Atlantic.

The Defence Forces Chief of Staff has rejected out of hand reports that female Army, Navy and Aer Corps members are being bullied and sexually harassed.

The Defence Forces are expected to strongly defend their gender equality record amid claims of substantial bullying, sexual harassment and sexual assault of female staff.

The Aer Corps helicopter based at Sligo has been scrambled to go to the aid of two divers who made an emergency ascent off Eagle Island.

An Aer Corps helicopter has rescued a British woman from the slopes of Croagh Patrick after she injured her leg trying to climb the mountain.

The Marine Rescue Service has been called in to assist in the search for a young Co Donegal man who has been missing since the weekend.

The search for the Carlow man missing from the naval vessel, the LE Roisin, has been extended to cover a 60-square mile area off the east Cork coast.

The Defence Forces have launched a major recruitment drive to fill vacancies in the Army, Aer Corps and the Navy.

An Aer Corps helicopter has successfully completed the overnight rescue of a surfer stranded on rocks off the coast of Co Antrim.

Helicopters have been involved in two mercy airlifts to bring seriously ill babies from the west to Dublin.

An Aer Corps helicopter has been involved in a life-saving mission for a new-born baby girl.

Rescue services around the Irish coast are now dealing with one hoax call a week - with the majority coming from the Dublin area.

A man has been airlifted to safety after falling this afternoon on rocks along the Co. Wexford coast.