Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 November 2004
221 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the extent to which he provides coastal air-sea rescue facilities; if adequate resources and personnel are available from or through his Department for these operations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29272/04]
View answerThe Irish Coast Guard has responsibility for the provision of Ireland's coastal air-sea search and rescue service. The coastal area lies within the Ireland search and rescue region, SRR.
Search and rescue services in Ireland are provided through a combination of Irish Coast Guard emergency services and services provided by a number of charitable and voluntary organisations dedicated to SAR.
The principal air and sea rescue resources in Ireland are Coast Guard 24-hour all-weather helicopters based at Dublin, Waterford and Shannon Airports and a 12-hour helicopter at Sligo Airport, which will become 24-hour early in 2005, the coast-wide Coast Guard units, RNLI Lifeboats and the Community Inshore Rescue Service.
The Coast Guard co-ordinates search and rescue operations, including those services provided by charitable and voluntary bodies. It also ensures that appropriate personnel, training, equipment and facilities are in place among its many declared resources. Coast Guard rescue co-ordination centres at Dublin, Malin Head and Valentia and a nationwide communications network are positioned and equipped to receive distress calls and co-ordinate response to incidents on land, around the coastline and sea areas within its areas of responsibility for search and rescue and casualty and pollution response.
While the challenges facing the Coast Guard continue to change and recognising the fact that the Coast Guard undertakes ongoing training and re-equipping, I am satisfied that the Coast Guard has adequate resources available to it to deal with its expected challenges.
