Paul Kehoe
Question:350 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources his plans for the future development of the Irish Coast Guard Service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22337/03]
Written Answers. - Irish Coast Guard Service.
Consultants, retained by my Department to conduct a study of the Irish Coast Guard, made over 100 recommendations for the future development of the service having regard to international best practice and value for money.
Reflecting the need to provide for greater co-ordination and more effective delivery of safety services on the ground, I announced recently that I proposed to bring proposals to Government shortly for the establishment of a new agency which will bring together the services provided by the Coast Guard and the maritime safety directorate of my Department. The new body will be independent of the Department, reflecting recommendations of the consultants, and its mandate will be to respond to a very wide safety agenda, including better enforcement of safety regulations, promotion of public awareness of safety issues, development of new ship and port security measures and an enhanced pollution prevention and response capability.
Reflecting modern communications technologies, the consultants also recommended that the coast guard should operate two control centres as opposed to the three centres that exist at present. This approach will have the effect of achieving significant cost savings, thus enabling other elements of the coast guard service to be developed and in turn leading to further improvements in our marine emergency response services nationally. My Department are currently in discussions with union representatives regarding the closure of the Dublin centre.
The capability of the coast guard to co-ordinate and manage incidents will not be diminished as a result of the closure of Dublin rather than Valentia or Malin Head. My objective is that the remaining two centres will be developed to handle all emergencies around our coast, on inland waters and in relation to mountain, cliff and cave rescue. Communications technology today is such that the geographical location of the co-ordination centres is less important now than in the past. I would also like to emphasise that the decision to close the Dublin centre will not affect the emergency response resources on the ground which will remain available to the Irish Coast Guard on a 24-hour basis all year round.
The consultants have also made a number of recommendations to enhance the radio communications network maintained by the coast guard as well as changes to operational procedures and staffing arrangements. An examination and implementation of these recommendations is being undertaken by my Department and senior coast guard management as part of the ongoing development of our emergency response services.