Former Clare volunteer settles High Court case with Coast Guard

AN experienced former member of the Doolin Coast Unit has secured a High Court settlement following proceedings initiated a few years ago against the Minister for Transport and the Irish Coast Guard, writes Dan Danaher.

Davy Spillane, who was an advanced coxswain with 20 years’ experience with the Doolin Coast Guard, said he can’t comment on the settlement figure.

The case arose after the tragic death of Spillane’s Doolin Coast Guard colleague and friend Caitriona Lucas in September 2016.

Welcoming the settlement, Irish Coast Guard Volunteers’ Representative Association (ICGVRA) spokesman, Jim Griffin said the result was a vindication of the case taken by Mr Spillane.

The group has sought a meeting with the Minister for Transport and has lobbied a number of Senator and Dáil deputies to address the Oireachtas Transport Committee shortly.

Mr Griffin said the group wanted to get the opportunity to highlight serious issues involving the National Coast Guard, which has impacted on members throughout the country.

He said the group wanted to try and resolve issues affecting volunteers to avoid going down the legal route.

The 41-year-old librarian, mother-of-two and highly experienced volunteer with the Irish Coast Guard’s Doolin unit died during the search for a missing man in Kilkee. She was one of three volunteers on board the Kilkee Coast Guard search and rescue boat when it capsized before the tragedy.

While two of the crew members were rescued, Ms Lucas, who was recorded in drone footage holding on to the port section of the RIB, did not survive.

Mr Spillane, who is also a well known musician, was tasked by Doolin Coast Guard to respond after the neighbouring Kilkee Coast Guard unit’s rigid inflatable boat (RIB) capsized on September 12, 2016, during a sea search for a missing man.

Volunteers with both the Doolin Units have told the Clare Champion there was no adequate “debrief” after Ms Lucas’s death.

During a survival at sea exercise organised off Doolin pier a few weeks after her death, Spillane reported that his drysuit started filling with water. His neck seal subsequently separated from his drysuit.

The Clare Champion has learned Mr Spillane made a statement to the safety officer that vital personal protection equipment, such as helmet, drysuit and life jacket, were not fit for purpose.

As an experienced coxswain, Mr Spillane has completed extensive training, which led him to raise serious safety concerns with personal protection equipment. Another volunteer recalled issues were encountered with life jackets during sea survival training exercises in Cork when the jackets inflated on one side or wouldn’t inflate at all.

On November 15, 2019, the Irish Coast Guard withdrew its in-shore rescue boats from service because of a reported malfunction with life-jackets in Kerry.

This announcement meant that in-shore boats were withdrawn from 23 locations around the country for a few weeks until the Irish Coast Guard deemed this issue was resolved with the provision of new jackets.

In a statement issued at the time the Irish Coast Guard said it is “actively managing the situation and is liaising closely with all key stakeholders and Search and Rescue (SAR) providers”.

The order meant that volunteers at 23 of the service’s 44 stations that are equipped with Delta RIBs rigid inflatable boats and smaller D-Class boats, couldn’t launch for rescue operations until further notice.

Meanwhile, a number of Doolin Coast Guard members remain in limbo and are uncertain of their future involvement due to a lack of direct contact from the national Coast Guard.

While a number of local Coast Guard volunteers were involved in the search for a body weeks ago, one well placed source claimed the unit still only has eight members this week – four less than when it was stood down from operations last November.

On November 2, Minister of State in the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton asked the Irish Coast Guard to begin the process of reconstituting the Doolin Coast Guard unit, which was stood down from operations and training activities after the resignation of six volunteers.

The decision was made following a report and recommendation from independent mediator, Kieran Mulvey, which has advised that certain relationships within the Doolin Coast Guard Unit have irretrievably broken down and the mutual trust, respect and confidence required to effectively operate a Coast Guard Unit does not exist within the unit.

Responding to Clare Champion queries, a Department of Transport spokeswoman transferred queries to the States Claims Agency press office as they answer queries relating to this case.