Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ó Cuív for raising this matter and for his interest in it. The Minister cannot be present - the Deputy can take that as he will - but I will be as helpful as I can in my response.

I acknowledge the work of the Coast Guard and its teams. The job they do is often difficult and challenging. I appreciate the need for a new permanent Coast Guard base at Cleggan. As the Deputy mentioned, the Coast Guard unit based there is designated as a shoreline search unit and operates out of an historic rocket house with inadequate facilities. All volunteer Coast Guard units are categorised as shoreline search units and other units are assigned additional functions. For example, Westport is designated as a search and boat unit and Doolin is designated as a search, cliff and boat unit.

The Coast Guard is endeavouring to secure a suitable base for the Cleggan unit. Unfortunately, few local opportunities have emerged. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport registered an interest with the then Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht as far back as 2015 in acquiring a site at the local airstrip in Cleggan. There have been ongoing communications since then between the Departments of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Transport, Tourism and Sport.

I will outline some of that engagement. In 2015, the latter Department requested that the Office of Public Works, OPW, conduct a feasibility study of the potential use of space on the airstrip for a Coast Guard facility. That study, with an appropriate assessment screening, was completed in March 2016 and submitted by the OPW to the then Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for consideration and, if appropriate, the approval of that Department. Subject to that approval, the OPW proposed to submit a planning application for provision of a Coast Guard station on part of the airstrip on the basis of the feasibility study. A written consent of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, as the site owner, is required to accompany any such planning application.

It was initially proposed to accommodate the Coast Guard from an earlier date by way of a temporary structure arrangement, to be followed by an application for a permanent new building within the lifetime of the temporary permission for the temporary structure, which would have been two to five years if granted. The then Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht gave its consent to such a planning application in April 2016. However, I understand that the OPW is yet to pursue the drafting of the application, as the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has stated that the method by which the formal transfer of the relevant portion of the site will be achieved has not yet been finalised by that Department.

It has been brought to my attention that this matter has been raised with the Department a number of times, including as recently as this May. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport will await a response from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The process is moving, however, and there has been considerable engagement back and forth, but it appears that the latter Department needs to sign off on certain matters.

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