Vol. 496 No. 1
117 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the position in relation to the strength and operational capacity of the Marine Rescue Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22135/98]
The Irish Marine Emergency Service, IMES, of my Department has 62 full-time staff and 600 volunteers. It manages and operates three co-ordination/communication centres at Dublin, Malin Head, County Donegal and Valentia, County Kerry, 12 remote VHF sites, two voice repeater sites and 50 coastal emergency response stations. The IMES operates two civilian Sikorski S61N search and rescue helicopters, one based in Shannon Airport and the second in Dublin Airport.
In addition to its own resources, a number of declared resources which include the RNLI lifeboats around the coast, six community inshore rescue service boats and two Air Corps search and rescue helicopters based at Finner, County Donegal and Waterford Regional Airport. All of these resources are declared and available to IMES on a 24 hour basis all year round.
The IMES delivers an effective 24 hour 365 day a year marine emergency service which meets the State's responsibilities for the provision of the most appropriate response to marine search and rescue, marine pollution, marine casualty and salvage within Ireland's international search and rescue region and pollution responsibility zones which includes its territorial seas and inland waters. The service provides for alert, notification, planning, co-ordination or control of marine emergency response and the provision of information to relatives, authorities and the public.
A review of the functions and organisation of the IMES is currently under way in my Department. This will inform the process of developing, detailed plans for the establishment of a national coastguard service. I have already announced my intention to develop and identify the IMES as a national coastguard service and I intend to bring forward proposals in this regard as soon as possible.
