Ireland's emergency air ambulance service is to be established on a permanent basis.

The Emergency Aeromedical Support Service (EAS) ensures that seriously ill or injured people who live in remote areas are transferred to an appropriate hospital where they can receive ‘high quality clinical care'.

The service is targeted mainly in the west.

The current service has been operated on a pilot basis since 2012 by the National Ambulance Service (NAS) and the Air Corps, with back up support from the Irish Coast Guard.

Since 2012, the service has completed over 1,050 missions, including getting over 320 heart attack patients to an appropriate hospital for treatment within 90 minutes of diagnosis.

According to the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, and the Minister for Defence, Simon Coveney, a cross sectoral group has been examining ways to make this service permanent. Following a report by this group, it has been agreed to establish a permanent service based on the current model.

This will be subject to an ongoing review.

Minister Varadkar said he was ‘delighted' that the Government had agreed to make this service permanent and he described the collaboration between the NAS and Air Corps as ‘quite remarkable'.

"The service has been great for patients and ensures that those in remoter areas, particularly in the west, have timely access to specialised treatment available in the larger hospitals. A third of the missions were in response to heart attacks, allowing patients to be treated in a specialist setting within 90 minutes of diagnosis," he commented.