Sod turned on new €6.8m. Mayo Coast Guard station

THE sod for the new €6.8 million Irish Coast Guard station at Westport has been turned by the Minister of State with special responsibility for the Irish Coast Guard, Jack Chambers.

Works have commenced at the site for the new facility, which is based at Westport Quay.

At the event, Minister Chambers said: “I would like to acknowledge the role of the IRCG volunteers as I have seen first-hand the dedication, commitment and passion of these people. It is evident to me that this is alive and well in the Westport unit and it is essential our volunteers have state of the art facilities to undertake their essential, lifesaving work.

“Over the last 20 years the Westport unit has responded to many calls for help within its catchment area, stretching form Killary Harbour to Mulranny, in both their search function and their boat rescue function. Many people have been rescued in response to those calls and lives have been saved.”

The minister reinforced his commitment to the ongoing construction and maintenance of Coast Guard stations to ensure they are safe and fit for purpose.

“This has been demonstrated by an investment of €6.8 million into this new station which will provide much improved facilities for the 24 volunteers who operate from the Westport unit as well as vehicle, boat and equipment storage.”

The Irish Coast Guard (IRCG) is a multi-disciplinary and multi-functional division within the Department of Transport whose role it is to provide maritime search and rescue, maritime casualty, and pollution response service. The IRCG, with almost 1000 volunteer members, is one of the State’s principal emergency services along with An Garda Síochána, the Fire Service and Ambulance Service.