Urgent intervention needed to reinstate Doolin Coastguard
- Dispute has seen multiple resignations
- Eamon Ryan must intervene in capacity as Minister
Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe is calling for swift and immediate action to be taken by government to reinstate the Doolin Coastguard as a matter of urgency.
It follows news that the unit has been stood down, after the resignation of six volunteers with the service, meaning that the remaining members are unable to respond to emergency callouts.
“I’m calling on Minister Eamon Ryan to intervene in the matter of the closed Irish Coastguard station at Doolin,” said Deputy Crowe.
“Minister Ryan, in his role as Transport Minister, has supreme authority over the Irish Coastguard system and he needs to urgently intervene to ascertain the full nature of HR problems which has led to this breakdown and the resignation of volunteers.
“The Doolin coastguard base is one of the busiest in the country because it covers a large area of the Atlantic coast, including one of Ireland’s most visited sites – the Cliffs of Moher – and also the Aran Islands, the most populous island community in Ireland.
“The volunteers have given many years of excellent service and I know that many people involved in tourism and marine activities in west Clare are now very concerned that this essential base has been temporarily closed.
“It’s vital that there is expediency at this point to ensure that the matters which are central to this dispute are identified and resolved.
“We should highly value the men and women who put their lives at risk to keep others safe at sea and I intend to raise this matter during question time in the Dáil on Thursday afternoon.
“This matter cannot go unresolved.”
-ENDS-
