Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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This is a long-running saga impacting on the Coast Guard station in Courtown. The Coast Guard at this station serves the coast of north Wexford and south Wicklow. More than 20 individuals regularly and bravely serve our communities in that area. The current old rocket cart station is one of the oldest in the country. It is a limestone building with a very rich history - it was unsuccessfully raided for arms during the War of Independence - but is currently no longer suitable for use because it was meant for single use.

With male and female crews, it is not suitable and the conditions are not good enough. The local Coast Guard has been able to acquire a five-year lease on a private house in the local area and it is now two years into the lease period. This saga has seen approximately seven Ministers visit the station over the years. During my five years in the Seanad, I raised the matter on five separate occasions with various Ministers to try to get an update on the position.

Let me take the Minister of State, Deputy Robert Troy, through the history of what I was told in my time in the Seanad. In February 2022, then Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton came into the Seanad and told me six possible sites had been identified by the OPW and that it was part of the OPW’s building priority programme. Such a priority was it, and nothing having happened by November 2022, the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, who is obviously quite familiar with south Wicklow-north Wexford, came into the Chamber and assured me that the Courtown Coast Guard building was one of the key priorities for the OPW and that “OPW officials are giving this project every priority possible at this time”. It gave it an awful lot of priority and nothing had happened by the summer of 2023, so the then Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Jack Chambers, came down to Courtown Harbour. Courtown is certainly a wonderful place to spend your summer but not to have a meeting about something the OPW had made no movement on. The Minister of State came down and helped to resolve potential issues between Wexford County Council and the OPW. The OPW then made it clear that there were no outstanding issues with the county council. We thought we would see progress then but nothing happened. In October 2023, when I raised the issue again in the Seanad, a Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Anne Rabbitte, told me Courtown was “one of the key priorities of the OPW in its building programme”. It was such a key priority that I had to raise the matter once again a year later by way of another Commencement matter. This time it was with Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O’Donnell. He reiterated that the matter was a key priority but informed me that the OPW had then completed an appraisal of all the possible sites and that progress had been made. The only progress I have seen on the position reflected in previous answers is that while there were six sites in the past, this number decreased to five. There was a possible site identified but then, for commercial reasons, it could not be proceeded with.

The Minister of State who is present, Deputy Troy, will forgive me and the Coast Guard for questioning what the OPW believes to be a key priority if something that was meant to have been sorted out a decade ago still has not seen any progress. I appreciate that he is answering answer on behalf of the Minister of State responsible for the OPW but I hope he is not going to give me a cut-and-paste answer, as a number of his predecessors have had to do.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Minister of State has a lot to live up to.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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Good luck with that.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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At least the Deputy acknowledged that I am only deputising for another Minister of State. He sends his apologies as he cannot be here.

It is obvious, given the level of interaction and number of representations the Deputy has made on this project over the past five years, why he is frustrated. I will give him the response I have been given. He will appreciate that I am not au fait with the issue. I will give the answer and he can come back to me afterwards if he has supplementary questions or questions he would like me to bring back to the relevant Minister of State.

The Irish Coast Guard, a division of the Department of Transport, has 44 units, based in 58 Coast Guard stations. The Coast Guard building programme, which includes the provision of new or upgraded facilities at a number of locations across the country, is managed by the OPW on behalf of the Department of Transport. These projects are funded by the Department. Programme priorities are decided by the Coast Guard and the programmes are overseen by a programme oversight group consisting of representatives from the Department, the Coast Guard service and the OPW. The OPW provides advice and assistance on the design of such projects, site feasibility studies, acquisition of sites, planning and detailed design, and contractor procurement and manages the delivery in line with the requirements of the Department of Transport and Coast Guard Service.

The Deputy will be well aware, given his advocacy and interest in this matter, that a preferred site for the Coast Guard facility in Courtown was selected following consultation between the OPW and the Department in March 2024. Following negotiations with the landowner, draft heads of terms and the purchase price have been agreed in respect of the preferred site. Given that the Department funds the Coast Guard programme, the OPW has sought authorisation to proceed with the purchase of the site, and this is awaited. Once this is received, the OPW can complete the remaining due diligence and the acquisition of the preferred site. As this is commercially sensitive, the OPW is not in a position to provide further information on the preferred site at this time.

Once a suitable site is required, the OPW will assign a project team to commence the planning and detailed design stages of the project. The tender process will then follow and the OPW will manage the delivery of the new Coast Guard facility in Courtown while continuing to work closely with colleagues in the Department of Transport to deliver on the overall Coast Guard programme.

Unfortunately, at this time it is not possible to provide a commencement date for the start of the construction of the new Coast Guard facility in Courtown. The OPW has been informed that, as an interim measure, the Department has secured accommodation for the Coast Guard unit in the local parochial house, which I believe is what the Deputy referred to in his contribution. The Department has confirmed that this arrangement will remain in place until the new facility is completed.

I am not quite sure whether the information on the agreement of the heads of terms is in addition to what the Deputy heard when he raised this in the Seanad. I will not take credit for relaying the message today but there does seem to have been some movement. That, no doubt, is largely due to his relentless pursuit of this issue.

Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. As he can imagine, my frustration is minimal by comparison with that of the Coast Guard and those who support and work with it in Courtown. It serves from Cahore right up to Arklow and beyond. The latest development does represent progress. Although the Minister of State cannot give me a complete timetable, he said the project will be completed by the time the lease for the parochial hall in Courtown will have expired. We are two years into a five-year lease, so I anticipate that since the Coast Guard cannot rely on divine assistance and will have to return to relying on the assistance of the OPW, it can be assured, within three years, that this process will continue.

There seems to be significant progress, although we had circumstances before whereby the OPW entered into discussions with the landowner but took so long that the landowner moved on with the sale. I appreciate that the matter is commercially sensitive but I would like assurances that we will move as quickly as possible. It is critical for this vital service for our coastal communities that we ensure that we get a state-of-the-art facility for the people of north Wexford and south Wicklow. More important than communicating more details to me, the OPW should communicate directly with the Coast Guard and the team in Courtown so they will be aware of the future plans.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I reiterate that draft heads of terms, including on the purchase price, have been agreed in respect of the new site. Therefore, there has been progress. The matter is now with the Department of Transport. I have no doubt that the Deputy will exert pressure on the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, to the same extent that he has exerted it on the OPW. It now needs to sanction the necessary funding and give authorisation to proceed with the purchase of the site. That is currently awaited. My advice to the Deputy is that he should channel his efforts in this regard to move things on.

At a time when we have all read about, and been aghast by, some of the projects that the OPW has sanctioned, and the funding it has spent on some projects, it is important that it carries out due diligence to ensure value for money on what is a very important project for Courtown and the wider area. No one will thank the organisation if something is deemed considerably excessive.

Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The OPW would have got it a lot cheaper ten years ago, when it started.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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That is the problem we have faced with many projects that have been delayed and stalled. The price is only going one way, not down. The OPW needs to carry out due diligence. It is important that it do so for us to get value for money regarding what I acknowledge is very important infrastructure for Courtown. I will relay to the relevant Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran, the sentiments the Deputy has expressed today, and no doubt the Deputy will raise the issue directly with Minister for Transport to ensure the authorisation is forthcoming.