asked the Minister for Transport and Power if he is satisfied that the life-saving facilities on the coasts of Counties Mayo and Sligo are adequate for present-day requirements; and, if not, what steps he proposes to take to have them improved.
48.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Coast Life-Saving Facilities.
47.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power if he will state (a) the number and (b) the location, and give a description of, the life-saving stations on the coasts of counties Mayo and Sligo.
With the permission of the Ceann Chomhairle I propose to take Questions Nos. 47 and 48 together.
The siting of life-saving facilities around our coast is determined by the volume of sea going traffic and the location of particular navigational dangers. The existing stations tend to be concentrated on the south and east coasts where the traffic is dense and there are fewer stations on the west coast where the volume of shipping traffic is very light. There is a coast life-saving station at Ballyglass, County Mayo, which is equipped with rocket line-throwing apparatus and cliff ladders. I have no reason to believe that the establishment of additional coast life-saving stations on the Mayo or Sligo coasts would be warranted on the basis of the existing shipping traffic and the location of shipping hazards in the area.
Lifeboats are provided by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution which is a private voluntary body. There is no lifeboat station on the Mayo or Sligo coast but I understand that the lifeboat institution have had under examination the possible need for a lifeboat in the area.
Will the Minister state who pays the cost of the equipment, boats and everything involved in life saving?
My Department pays for the coast life-saving service and the lifeboat is bought from voluntary contributions.
Where is the headquarters of that service?
The headquarters is in London.
And most of the subscribers are in England.
So we have a very cheap service not alone for life-saving but for helicopters. A foreign country has to supply helicopters.
The Deputy will bear in mind that the life-saving service is international and the vast majority of vessels that pass around our coasts are not of our nationality. It is recognised internationally that this should be an international service.
Can we not stand up as a nation and provide the necessary service around our coasts for ourselves?
Would the Deputy bring his feet to the ground for a change? He is in orbit.
It would do this Government no harm to keep their feet on the ground in the next 12 months.