The House will now hear a two minute statement from Deputy Sheehan on a matter appropriate to the Minister for the Marine.
Adjournment Debate. - Marine Matter.
I thank you for the opportunity to raise this matter with the Minister for the Marine. This important matter concerns the provision of a coastguard service to replace the lighthouse keeper service when the lighthouses become automatic in a year or two.
At the outset I wish to pay tribute to the great work of our lighthouse keepers down through generations in keeping watch over our coastal territories throughout the country. The Republic has a huge mileage of coastline which will be completely unguarded when the automation of the lighthouses is complete. This will be an invitation to dealers to smuggle in arms and drugs, which will add further to the problem.
In other countries where lighthouse keepers have been dispensed with and where automation has taken place they have been replaced by a coastguard service. This is something the Department of the Marine should consider as otherwise there will be no surveillance of any description and no control on the movement of ships and yachts which could be involved in the smuggling of drugs and arms into this country. What does the Minister intend to do to fill the vacuum which will be created following the automation of the lighthouses off our coastline?
(Wexford): I apologise for the absence of the Minister for the Marine. I give this reply on his behalf.
As Minister for the Marine I am very conscious and appreciative of the sterling work and support the lighthouse keepers of the Commissioners of Irish Lights provided to the search and rescue system in the past and still provide at the remaining six manned lighthouses. The service they provided as coastwatchers and assisting in search and rescue communications was invaluable before my Department provided a National VHF Communication Network. These services which were provided on a non-statutory and informal basis, as well as being secondary to their official duties, are therefore all the more deserving of our appreciation.
Ireland has had no coastguard service as such since the foundation of the State in 1922 and over the years there have been calls for such a service to be established. My Department's coast and cliff rescue service, which was founded in 1923 as the coast lifesaving service, exists as the successor to the old United Kingdom coastguard in Ireland in so far as its coastal rescue function is concerned. Other functions of the old coastguard such as search and rescue co-ordination and communications were taken over by other bodies.
Almost all of the functions of a coastguard are performed by existing services and are the responsibility of my Department. For example, the task of co-ordinating marine search and rescue in Ireland is undertaken by the marine rescue co-ordination centre at Shannon, the coast and cliff rescue service is responsible for coastal search and rescue. Radio communications are provided by the coast radio stations at Valentia and Malin Head through their 11 remotely controlled VHF stations.
The only remaining function of a coastguard which is not provided by the State is that of maintaining a continuous visual coast watch. However there is a VHF network and almost every water craft has a radio. In addition the coast and cliff rescue service carry out bad weather visual watches and distress vessel visual watches around the coast as part of their duties whenever the need is identified.
The Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre and the coast radio stations are 24 hour manned services and their functions are being brought together with the Volunteer Coast and Cliff Rescue Service in the Irish Marine Emergency Service of my Department. This service under its Director is now responsible for search and rescue, counter pollution response, casualty and salvage around our coast. I will be advised by the Irish Marine Emergency Service of any further needs in this area.
I am a little disappointed with the Minister's reply because he did not get the gist of my question. My question related to unauthorised craft which will have free access to our ports because of lack of vigilance. Those unauthorised craft could land arms, drugs and so on because there would be nobody to keep vigilance on that type of activity which will increase as a result of the termination of the lighthouse keeper service.
(Wexford): I will pass on the Deputy's comments to the Minister.
That would be appreciated and perhaps my comments could be passed on to the Minister for Defence also.
(Wexford): I will pass on the Deputy's comments to the Minister for the Marine and I will ask him to contact the Deputy.
The Dáil adjourned at 5.30 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Friday, 15 May 1992.