Coastguard stations saved but efficiencies needed

Maritime officers at the three Irish Coast Guard stations will have to adopt new working regimes after the Government opted to keep them open.

Fears had grown that Dublin, Malin, and Valentia would be shut down in a cost-cutting drive after a value for money report was handed to the Government in the summer.

Leo Varadkar, minister for transport, said he decided to keep the stations open after careful consideration.

“Through the utilisation of the most modern communications and IT infrastructure across a single national coast guard network, I will be proposing that the three centres will be more closely aligned and integrated,” he said.

“Therefore the current structure of three coast guard centres in Dublin, Malin and Valentia will continue to provide their current service but will be required to deliver new efficiencies in how these services are provided.”

The Fisher Associates report examined standards of Ireland maritime authorities.

Its main finding was that Ireland is poorly prepared for a major coastal pollution incident. It also pointed to communication weaknesses in the coastguard and in training volunteers.

Supporters for retention of the three stations claimed local knowledge during search and rescue missions would be lost if staff were forced to operate out of a centralised base in Dublin.

Joe McHugh, Fine Gael TD for Donegal North East, said the decision was a victory for common sense.

“The retention of Malin Head and Valentia Island stations will preserve the long-standing relationships between fishermen and the stations, which are a vitally important element in delivering the high quality services on which Irish fishermen and the Irish marine industry rely,” he said.

“In these difficult times, it is not possible to win every political battle. Thankfully, common sense has prevailed.”

Elsewhere, Mr Varadkar hit out at criticisms levelled during an Oireachtas committee hearing on the issue of the coastguard stations.

A team of external consultants has been tasked with devising new working regimes in the stations.