Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, to the House. I thank him for his time this afternoon.

Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. He will be aware of the Courtown-Arklow Coast Guard unit. It is one unit. I raise the question of the facilities for the Coast Guard stations in Arklow and Courtown.

In the case of the Arklow Coast Guard station, the Minister of State will be aware that in December last year Wicklow County Council granted planning permission for upgrades to the building. This extension would allow for a disabled toilet, a shower, a changing room, extra storage and a canteen-cum-meeting room. Since that planning permission was granted, no action has been taken to move on the building of the facility.

I turn to the case of the Courtown Coast Guard station.The Minister of State and I engaged on this previously, soon after he was appointed to this Department. I am becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of action concerning this facility. This goes back now over a decade. I have had to raise it numerous times in this House because there has been no progress.

On 24 February 2022, when the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, came into the House, she told me that six sites had been shortlisted and that Courtown was on the "building programme priority list". On 23 November 2022, the then Minister, Deputy Harris, came into the House and informed me that this was "one of the key priorities" for the OPW. He went on to say that "OPW officials are giving this project every priority possible at this time". That was November 2022. By the summer of 2023, it was indicated following correspondence that there may be some issue with Wexford County Council. I, therefore, arranged a meeting in the Coast Guard hut in Courtown between the then junior transport Minister, Deputy Jack Chambers, and Wexford County Council during which it was clearly established that Wexford County Council had no issue with any of the sites, and the OPW informed us that it was narrowing it down to five sites. On 10 October 2023, because I could not get any further information, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, came into the House and again informed me that Courtown was one of the key priorities for the OPW.

When the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, appeared before this House earlier this year, I raised the question of the Courtown Coast Guard station and he informed me again that it was one of the key priorities for the OPW. I requested that the Coast Guard locally be kept informed by the OPW. The Minister of State told me that the OPW would inform the Department of Transport, which in turn would inform the Coast Guard. Have we heard anything? No. On 16 September of this year, I emailed the Minister of State's office asking for an update on both the Arklow and Courtown facilities. My email was acknowledged on 17 September. I have been seeking an update since from his office and from the OPW, but I have not received one.

The Minister of State will understand the frustration being experienced by Coast Guard members and coastal communities. Planning permission in Arklow was granted and nothing seems to be happening. The Coast Guard personnel on the ground in Arklow are certainly not aware of any progress. In the case of Courtown, however, we are continually being told it is a priority, yet it does not appear to be. Is the OPW actually capable of delivering these projects? If this is meant to be a priority for the OPW, I would hate to see something that is not.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Byrne for raising this important matter in respect of the Coast Guard projects in Courtown and Arklow. I saw that this had been tabled as a Commencement matter, so I wanted to come in as Minister of State with responsibility to provide him with an update. I will do it slightly out of sequence to the response and deal with Arklow first.

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

With regard to the Arklow project, the OPW completed detailed design for a single-storey extension to the existing Coast Guard rocket cart house. The planning applications was submitted in 2023. The decision to grant permission to the proposal of the extension was made by Wicklow County Council on 5 December 2023, with final grants received on 25 January 2024.

The OPW is currently undertaking procurement for services of a consultant civil and structural engineer to complete the design team. In tandem, a fire safety certificate and disabled access applications are being prepared and will be lodged with the local authority in the coming weeks. The timeline for approval of these following lodgement is a minimum of eight weeks. It is anticipated that the new tender process will commence in the coming months, with a contract awarded in quarter 1 of 2025. Construction will commence on completion of the tender process. The appointment of a contractor will be granted subject to statutory approvals.Construction of new facilities are currently estimated to take approximately nine months from commencement to completion.

To go back to Courtown, I understand the Senator’s frustration and I undertake to follow up on the particular issue raised and come back to him in the next week. 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 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. While the building works have alleviated some of the problems, the use of the facility in its current form is unsustainable. As the current site is only slightly larger than the building footprint and is bordered to the rear by a steep river gully, there is very limited capacity for any expansion or upgrade of the facility. Since this matter was last raised - in fairness to Senator Byrne, it has been consistently raised by him - the OPW has liaised with the Irish Coast Guard to progress proposing a new location for the Coast Guard station in 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 as to a potential site that, subject to the completion of legal due diligence, may be available.# In addition, a market trawl identified a number of other potential sites that may meet the requirements of the Coast Guard. The OPW completed the appraisal process in all sites identified. As part of the appraisal process feasibility studies were carried on the potential sites to ensure that all Coast Guard requirements can be provided for and there is no impediment to the proposed development which will be subject to planning. Following completion of the feasibility studies, the preferred site was selected following consultation between the OPW and the Department of Transport in March 2024. The OPW is still in active negotiations with the owners of the preferred site, but this is a very early and commercially sensitive stage. As the process is still ongoing, the OPW is not in position to provide further information on individual sites at this time.

The next step, following authorisation of funding by the Department of Transport, is completion of due diligence and acquisition of the preferred site. Obviously, this has to be done in line with infrastructural guidelines. Once a suitable site is acquired, 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 a new Coast Guard facility in Courtown.

I will go back and take a more extensive look at the process involved, although obviously not in any way interfering with the process, but to see where things stand. I understand the urgency around this project. I assure Senator Byrne that the OPW is committed to continue its work with Department of Transport and the Coast Guard Service to deliver on a station in Courtown and the upgrade works in Arklow.

Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response on the question of the Coast Guard station in Arklow. The fact that the contract will be awarded from Q1 of 2025 is welcome and good news. The Minister of State said that once the contract is awarded, there will be nine months of construction. Therefore, there is a possibility that all going well, the project will be completed by Christmas 2025, subject to the wording in the contract. At worst, it could be finished in 2026.

Unfortunately, in respect of the Minister of State's answer concerning Courtown - I appreciate he is only relaying what he is being told - it is a cut and paste of what he was given six months ago. I am not satisfied with that response. The OPW has done nothing as far as I am concerned. I am not frustrated for myself but for the people who have to work in a completely inadequate facility.The Minister of State will appreciate how hard people work in the Coast Guard and what they do for our coastal communities. Many Ministers and others have down to visited this facility and they have all viewed it as inadequate. That answer is not acceptable. The OPW have not taken any action on this. I have been getting the same answer for four years and the only change is that it has gone from six sites to five sites to commercially sensitive negotiations. It is just not acceptable.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I welcome Senator Byrne's comments on Arklow and I appreciate his frustration about Courtown, County Wexford. A preferred site was selected in final consultation with the Department of Transport in March 2024. The OPW is still in negotiations with the owner of the preferred site but as it has been said, it is at a commercially sensitive stage.

I give the Senator my commitment to follow up and personally come back to him over the week on this particular matter. I thank the Senator for raising the issue of both Coast Guard projects in Arklow and Courtown. I assure Senator Byrne that the OPW is committed to continuing work with the Department of Transport and Coast Guard service to deliver on upgrade works in Arklow and a station in Courtown. I will come back to the Senator on Courtown.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State and Senator Byrne.