Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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64. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his plans, if any, to reduce staffing levels and remove services at Malin Head Coastguard Station, County Donegal; his plans to deal with the upcoming retirements at the station; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31024/13]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Value for Money reviews undertaken last year into the Coast Guard and Marine Surveying functions of my Department identified a number of issues which need to be addressed in Ireland's maritime transport safety and marine emergency response regimes. Among the primary matters addressed by the consultants was the level of resourcing necessary to deliver the broad range of services demanded nationally and internationally of the Irish maritime administration.   

For the purposes of identifying the most suitable model for operating a national Coast Guard facility within limited resources, a supplementary review was undertaken earlier this year specifically focussed on Coast Guard operations and reflective of the existing staff profile including potential retirements.

One of the consultants' key recommendations was that the option of a 2 centre model for rescue coordination centres should be pursued in lieu of retaining the current 3 centre model.  After careful consideration of all the various options presented I decided to maintain the three centres model. To that end, I asked my Department to examine the most appropriate way of maintaining this model given the current economic climate and utilising the assistance of a modern integrated communications and IT infrastructure.  I expect to conclude very shortly on our overall response to  the various deficiencies raised in the reviews which will include the level of staffing necessary to maintain a three centre Coast Guard model.