Public health expert calls for probe into 400 Air Corps deaths

Professor Anthony Staines said: 'You have to understand that people who joined the Air Corps would be among the fittest, and would have to pass many sorts of tests.'

One of Ireland’s leading public health experts has said there are grounds for an in-depth examination into the deaths of more than 400 serving and retired Air Corps personnel.

Professor Anthony Staines believes there are indications that the death rates among the personnel — around 200 of whom died under the age of 65 between 1980 and 2026 — appear to be “excessively high”.