The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, will meet a delegation from the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service committee next month, when he will be told of the urgent need to establish a flying doctor service in the State.
The chairman of the voluntary HEMS committee, Dr Jerry Cowley, a GP based in Co Mayo, said that the meeting with the Minister had been arranged for July 12th in Dublin.
The Minister will be told that £6 million towards the cost of such a service has been pledged by companies and individuals.
The committee proposes locating helicopters in Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Knock, Co Mayo. The helicopters would be used to get prompt medical assistance to accident victims.
Dr Cowley said that Ireland was the only country in Europe which did not have a dedicated HEMS service.
"I think there is a perception that the provision of a HEMS service would be very expensive," he said. "In an overall health budget of £3.1 billion, it's a pittance.
"We want the Minister to bring a Business Expansion Scheme (BES) to Government for ratification in the pending Finance Bill. If it gets the go-ahead, we could have a HEMS service by the end of the year."
Dr Cowley continued: "The Government has recently provided a second helicopter for the Garda because of the need for a dedicated helicopter service in the fight against crime. Surely saving lives and preventing a life of disability for young west of Ireland victims of road traffic accidents matters as much as catching criminals.
"This is the missing link in a comprehensive ambulance service. Millions of pounds are being spent on the health service and yet it is deficient because there is one essential part missing - HEMS."
A poster and petition campaign to promote HEMS is being launched by Dr Cowley. Petition forms are to be distributed to doctors' surgeries and pharmacies throughout the west of Ireland.
Dr Cowley added: "We need a HEMS service as an integral part of the co-ordinated pre-hospital transport service, not a replacement for something that already exists. We fully support the development of the ground ambulance system, but ground ambulances cannot fly."
Likewise, he said, the Air Corps, which at present provides air ambulance flights, was not a dedicated service.
The campaign for the provision of HEMS has been given a boost by a leading consultant neurosurgeon. Mr Jack Phillips, who is attached to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, has concluded that long-term disability could be halved if all victims of trauma could reach hospital within the "golden hour".
The Ambulance Association of Ireland is backing the campaign.