New station for coast guard by year end

THE Doolin unit of the Irish Coast Guard is expected to be in a new state-of-the-art station by the end of this year. On Wednesday, Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar announced funding is to be provided for the project.

 

The Doolin unit, which is one of the country’s busiest, has been operating out of “inadequate” premises for 25 years. It has no changing rooms and no toilets and currently uses a farm store to hold its equipment.

The project has planning permission on the site owned by the Office of Public Works, which will oversee construction works. The project will go to tender in the next few weeks and construction is expected to begin in May.

The new station will provide a garage area for the storage of boats, cliff rescue, personal equipment and transport, as well as changing facilities and an operations room.

Station officer with the Doolin Unit of the Irish Coast Guard, Mattie Shannon, said he is thrilled with the announcement.
“What we have heard is that the new building will be finished by December; that would be great. We hope that it is a contractor in the Clare area that wins the contract. There are some local contractors that still do work for the OPW and the county council, so we would be delighted if a local company got it,” Mr Shannon added.

“We have been looking for a new building since 1988 but 13 years ago, we really started campaigning for it. At the time, we were told we would have it in a year or two, so better late than never,” he said.

Mr Shannon said the new building recognises the community’s ongoing support for the unit. “Eventually, we will end up like the fire brigade where everything is in one place, where everyone comes to the station and we get kitted out and all the equipment is there and we all go to the job together,” he said.

Senator Martin Conway remarked, “The conditions these volunteers have worked in for the last 20 years can only be compared to a garden shed and as such were wholly inadequate with volunteers even storing essential rescue equipment in their own homes. They had no washing or changing facilities and nowhere even to make a cup of tea. This new facility should have been constructed years ago but it is better late than never,” he said.

Senator Conway paid tribute to “the tireless work of Mattie Shannon and the volunteers who selflessly give their time in some of the most appalling weather conditions to help others”.

Doolin Volunteer Coast Guard unit operates a cliff rescue team, a boat unit and shoreline search team. The 24-member team is supported by seven additional volunteers located on nearby Inis Oírr.
“The service they provide is invaluable to the local community; indeed for many people living locally and further afield, they are heroes,” said Fine Gael TD Pat Breen.

He praised Transport Minister Leo Varadkar for giving approval to the project, which he claimed “was first promised by Fianna Fáil nine years ago”.
“It’s very positive news for the local community and all of those involved in the running of Doolin Coast Guard, that a new station is to be built this year. As far back as 2004, the then minister for the marine, Dermot Ahern, told me the purchase of a site had been agreed for the project. Yet through all the years of the boom, it was never built.”

“The decision by the Government to give the new station the green light is clear recognition of the invaluable work carried out by coast guard volunteers in Doolin. Coast guard units throughout the country and volunteers helped more than 2,500 people and saved 161 lives last year. They deserve our support,” he concluded.

Clare’s other Fine Gael TD, Joe Carey, highlighted the wider effect of the announcement on the local economy.
“In the coming days, details will be announced in relation to when the tender for this project will be published. There will be a knock-on for the local economy during construction of the new volunteer station,” he said.

Fine Gael Senator Tony Mulcahy said the new premises, when completed, will be crucial in reducing the time it takes for the coast guard to get to emergency call-outs.

Labour TD Michael McNamara stated he was glad to see the project move ahead after what he termed “considerable delay”.
This, he said, “was caused by a delay in the conveyance of the site, which was due to a delay in the Chief State Solicitor’s office rather than anyone here in Clare. I am glad that conveyance was executed.”