Wing and a prayer for future of Waterford Coast Guard rescue base 

The R117 helicopter operates out of Waterford, and its crews had a busy year in 2021; typically it responds to around 700 calls a year but that increased to more than 900 last year. Picture: John Hennessy

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan admitted in recent days that the potential loss of the Waterford search and rescue base is a "life or death" situation.

The fear is that the base will be lost under a new contract worth hundreds of millions of euro for the renewal of aviation services for the Irish Coast Guard.