asked the Minister for the Marine if it is proposed to finance the location of a lifeboat off the north Mayo coast.
Written Answers. - Location of Lifeboat.
31.
The lifeboat service around the coasts of Ireland is provided and operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The Institution is an independent voluntary body which provides the lifeboats and lifeboat stations and appoints the station personnel including the lifeboat crews.
The Institution has just completed a three-phase review of its operations around the Irish coast. As a result of the third phase which covered the stations from Courtmacsherry, County Cork to Arranmore, County Donegal, the RNLI has examined the possibility of establishing a lifeboat station on the Mayo coast. A decision on the matter will be made by the RNLI executive committee very shortly and I hope to be kept informed of developments.
The State does not finance the purchase of lifeboats although my Department has made an annual grant of £100,000 to the RNLI in 1987 and 1988.