John O'Mahony (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Clonan for his presentation. I thank the Coast Guard for the work it does and the lives it saves. Often when we meet a Coast Guard vehicle on the road, people are not aware of the details Mr. Clonan has given this morning. I know there have been some television programmes in recent times. I was amazed by the work the Coast Guard does in extremely difficult conditions at high risk to its members. I join the Chairman in acknowledging the tragedies involving the loss of colleagues in recent times. Our sympathies go to all members of the Coast Guard. Any life lost is tragic but a life lost while trying to save others is especially tragic. As well as people employed professionally, the volunteers who work above and beyond the call of duty in many respects deserve great credit for putting their lives on the line. I did not realise until today the strong Coast Guard network involving helicopter rescue, hospitals and all of that.

Mr. Clonan commented on how the Coast Guard is resourced by the State. Is that a difficulty? Following tragedies have the recommendations from investigations always been followed up or is there an issue there? I wish to ask about the number of hoax calls the service gets. I was amazed when I got the figures for people making hoax calls a few years ago. There appears to be a lack of follow up or inability to follow up on charging people who bring out the Coast Guard services in such a way. Is that continuing to increase or has any action been taken on it? Those services are so vital for genuine cases. I was astounded by the number of hoax calls. Is that still an issue?