Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, I was very keen to take this Commencement matter myself. I have been in this role for a relatively short period, but I know this subject is of huge importance to the Senator. Progress has been made and I would like to update him on it today. I thank him for raising this important matter and I am pleased to provide an update. I know he has previously raised this with my predecessor. I can see it is a matter he has been raising for quite a significant period.

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 and covers areas such as planning, design, building and ongoing maintenance. These projects are funded by the Department.

Programme priorities are decided by the Coast Guard and the programme is overseen by a programme oversight group consisting of representatives from the Department of Transport, the Coast Guard and the OPW. The OPW provides advice and assistance on the design of such projects, site feasibility studies, acquisition of sites from the local authority or others, planning and detail design, and manages the delivery in line with the requirements of the Department of Transport and Coast Guard service.

New accommodation for the Courtown Coast Guard unit is included - and it is worth repeating this - as one of the key priorities of this delivery programme. The existing Courtown Coast Guard station is a single-room, limestone-built building originally designed for storage of rescue equipment. It is situated at a busy intersection of three roads and has no available off-road area to park. The OPW has carried out some minor remedial works to the building in the past to provide dry storage and office space and to address essential health and safety issues. Although building works alleviated some of the problems, the use of the facility in its current form is unsustainable, and everyone agreed with that. As the current site is only slightly larger than the building footprint and is bordered to the rear by a steep river gulley, there is very limited capacity to provide for any expansion or upgraded facility.Since this matter was last raised the OPW is continuing to liaise with the Irish Coast Guard to progress a proposed new location for the Coast Guard station at Courtown. As outlined previously a number of potential sites in the ownership of the local authority had been put forward by the Coast Guard but these sites are no longer available. The OPW continued to engage with Wexford County Council and received clarity in June 2023 on a potential site that, subject to the completion of legal due diligence, may be available. A market trawl also identified a number of other potential sites that may meet the requirements of the Coast Guard. The Senator will appreciate that, under the public spending code, the OPW is required to look at all possible sites. The OPW completed the appraisal process on all sites identified, in accordance with the requirements of the public spending code. As part of the appraisal process, feasibility studies were carried out on the potential sites to ensure that all the Coast Guard requirements can be provided for and that there is no impediment to the proposed development which will be subject to planning.

This is the key point for the Senator. Following completion of the feasibility studies, a preferred site was selected following consultation between the OPW and the Department of Transport in March 2024. The OPW is now in active negotiations with the owner of the preferred site, but this is at a very early and commercially sensitive stage. As the process is still ongoing, the OPW is not in a position to provide further information on individual sites at this time, but it is worth repeating that a preferred site has been selected. That is following consultation between the OPW and the Department of Transport in March this year. The OPW is in active negotiations with the owner of the preferred site, but the Senator will appreciate that it is at a commercially sensitive stage and we are not in a position to provide any further information on the individual at this time. However, I am glad to report that progress has been made.