John O'Donoghue
Ceist:234 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for the Marine the plans, if any, he has to upgrade facilities and extend the coverage of Valentia Coast Radio Station. [23668/96]
Written Answers. - Coast Radio Station Service.
Valentia Coast Radio Station, together with the other manned coast radio stations at Dublin and Malin Head, forms part of the coast radio station — CRS — service under the aegis of the Irish Marine Emergency Service — IMES — of the Department of the Marine. IMES maintains a continuous 24 hour VHF watch for distress calls and provides a communications network for the alerting, notification and reporting of marine emergencies. It also controls 12 remotely controlled VHF radio stations at various locations along the coast and has at any one time seven people keeping watch.
There has been significant upgrading of search and rescue facilities and the marine emergency communications network, including coastal radio stations, under the direction of IMES since it was established in 1991.
Radio equipment at Valentia includes four medium frequency radio telephone transmitters, a digital select calling system — DCS — which is used in distress incidents to alert shipping in the area and two medium frequency wireless telegraphy transmitters used to transmit and receive morse coded messages. In recent months a NAVTEX system has been installed at Valentia which is capable of being remotely operated from Dublin Coast Radio Station and is used for transmitting distress signals, urgent messages, weather forecasts, gale warnings and navigational warnings.
A new control desk and electronic equipment are currently being installed at Valentia to facilitate the operation of a new medium frequency transmitting station required for the handling of an increased volume of fisheries communications traffic. The extension of Valentia VHF cover by the provision of new stations to improve radio communications in Galway Bay and on the south coast is also planned. Plans are also in train to fit high frequency channels in the existing radio telephone transmitters for use by the IMES search and rescue helicopter when it has to proceed outside of Valentia medium frequency and very high frequency coverage.
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that existing coverage of Valentia Coast Radio Station facilitated it in responding to 414 incidents in 1995 thus enabling IMES to assist and-or save 1,288 people.