HSE and Defence Forces meet on LÉ Eithne
Senior HSE and Defence Forces personnel have met in Cork to discuss their joint response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The meeting was conducted on Naval Service flagship, LÉ Eithne, and attended by the Defence Forces Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service, Commodore Michael Malone, and Brigadier General Pat Flynn, the senior officer in charge of 1 Brigade. It was also addressed by Kieran Henry, head of the National Ambulance Service in the region and Gerry O’Dwyer, chief executive of the South/Southwest Hospital Group.
Mr O’Dwyer thanked the crew of LÉ Eithne for helping out during the crisis. He said they have been storing and transporting vital medical equipment in recent days. He noted that it is unlikely at present that the ship will be used as a Covid-19 testing centre, even though its crew are on standby for that if necessary: “I want to acknowledge in general what they (the Defence Forces) are doing to help. They will give us engineers and other supports should we need them.”
Vice Admiral Mellett said senior military officers will “in the very near future” start communicating with ex-Defence Forces members who have applied to re-enlist.
The Defence Forces are particularly looking to re-recruit specialists in certain sections where they are lacking personnel, such as marine engineers, electricians, aircraft technicians, communications etc. As of yesterday, nearly 550 former enlisted personnel and officers applied to rejoin.
Commander Caoimhín Mac Unfraidh, who had submitted his resignation to the Naval Service earlier in the year, decided to rejoin in the face of the emergency and is now captaining the flagship: “I discussed it with my family and decided it was the right thing to do. The national situation had changed drastically and I felt it was my duty to come back.”
The senior officer said he is also very grateful for volunteers from the Naval Service Reserve from Cork and Waterford, who currently form a quarter of his crew: “They are doing a fantastic job and bring a wide range of skillsets with them. Some are students whose courses have been cancelled.”
