Sod turned on new €5.3m Coast Guard facility in Waterford

The new facility is expected to take one year to build

Waterford senator John Cummins; Minister with special responsibility for the Irish Coast Guard Hildegarde Naughton; Graham Petrie, project manager, PAC Studios; Kevin Wolahan, OPW regional architect; Jemma McCormack, property maintenance, OPW; and Olivia Gooney, Irish Coast Guard, at the site of the new facility in Bunmahon on Wednesday morning. Picture Maxwells

Work has begun on the construction of a new Coast Guard station in Waterford.

Minister with special responsibility for the Irish Coast Guard Hildegarde Naughton, and Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) Patrick O’Donovan turned the sod at the site of the new station at Bunmahon on Wednesday morning.

Construction of the €5.3m station is expected to take one year. Once completed, it will replace the temporary facility currently being used by coast guard volunteers in the area.

At present, the Irish Coast Guard operates 44 stations dotted along Ireland's coastline.

The new station at Bunmahon will contain an emergency operations room, a communications room, a training facility, a garage for emergency response vehicles, and shower and changing facilities.

Speaking on Wednesday morning, Ms Naughton said it was essential the country had "Coast Guard stations, vehicles and equipment that are fit for purpose".

"The Irish Coast Guard provides a critical service for Irish people saving life at sea and protecting the marine environment," she said.

The minister also paid tribute to the Bunmahon volunteers who had responded "to many search and cliff rescue emergencies down through the years, both maritime and inland, in rural communities and in the larger townlands of Tramore and Dungarvan".

"The Bunmahon Coast Guard unit is a key resource for the Irish Coast Guard in delivering its search and rescue mission in the Waterford area. The unit has shoreline and cliff rescue capabilities and works closely with its flank units at Ardmore and Tramore."

Ms Naughton said the commitment and dedication of the almost 1,000 coast guard volunteers across the country was "second to none".

"Today is a special day for our volunteers, the Irish Coast Guard and those enjoying Waterford’s beautiful coastline in the many years ahead."