James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Last year the Irish Coast Guard assisted over 3,300 people and saved 335 lives.

From people overboard to ships sinking 30 km off the coast and everything in between, it protects our fishing communities and our coastlines. Over 40 units of the Coast Guard protect 7,500 km of our coastline. In my home county, Wexford, there are Rosslare, Carnsore, Curracloe, Fethard-on-Sea and Kilmore Quay Coast Guard stations, some of them in a deplorable state. Members of the Coast Guard do their difficult job often in the harshest of weather conditions including huge waves, driving rain, hail, sleet, snow and high winds. Every time they go out, they put their lives at risk and we know from the tragedies suffered that is a very real risk. The loss of Rescue 116 and the lives of Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Captain Mark Duffy and crew members Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith off the coast of Mayo and separately the loss of volunteer Caitríona Lucas in recent years is testimony to that. It is phenomenal to think they do all this on a voluntary basis.

There are four blue light services in Ireland: An Garda Síochána, the National Ambulance Service, the fire service and the Coast Guard but the Coast Guard stands out as the only one of the four not protected by statutory legislation. As a consequence, it struggles for representation, recognition and protection. This legislation seeks to correct this by putting the Coast Guard on an equal footing with the other blue light services. I was very happy to work with Deputy Troy in advance of this Bill being prepared and Deputy Troy deserves great credit for his work in this area. This Bill is fair and reasonable, is the just thing to do and is the least the Coast Guard deserves.

See this speech in context