Minister Jack Chambers turns sod on new €6.8m Westport Coast Guard Station

Minister of State Jack Chambers travelled to Mayo this morning to turn the sod on the new €6.8 million Westport Coast Guard Station.

The new state of the art station will be located at the Quay in Westport and will be the home of the 24-member strong Westport Coast Guard unit.

A large crowd attended the official sod turning which was also attended by representatives of the three Coast Guard units in Mayo as well as representatives of the other emergency services.

Mayo Oireachtas members Minister of State, Dara Calleary TD, Michael Ring TD and Alan Dillon TD as well as Senator Lisa Chambers and local councillors were also in attendance.

Minister Chambers, who has special responsibility for the Irish Coast Guard, said he was delighted to be invited to turn the sod of the new Westport Coast Guard Station and paid tribute to all the volunteers for their dedication and commitment.

“I would like to acknowledge the role of the IRCG volunteers as I have seen first-hand the dedication, commitment and passion of these people. It is evident to me that this is alive and well in the Westport unit and it is essential our volunteers have state of the art facilities to undertake their essential, lifesaving work,” he said.

Minister Chambers, whose parents are native to Mayo, added that the investment in the new station in Westport shows the commitment he has to ensuring the Irish Coast Guard is safe and fit for purpose.

“Over the last 20 years the Westport unit has responded to many calls for help within its catchment area stretching from Killary Harbour to Mulranny in both their search function and their boat rescue function. Many people have been rescued in response to those calls and lives have been saved.

“The Department of Transport is responsible for the IRCG building programme and I would like to reinforce my commitment to the on-going construction and maintenance of Coast Guard stations to ensure they are safe and fit for purpose. This has been demonstrated by an investment of €6.8 million into this new station which will provide much improved facilities for the 24 volunteers who operate from the Westport unit as well as vehicle, boat and equipment storage.”

The site of the new Coast Guard station is located on Roman Island and will be constructed by Castlebar-based MVS Construction and is expected to take 18 months to complete. The Westport Coast Guard unit had previously operated out of a temporary steel shed which was also located on Roman Island.

The Irish Coast Guard (IRCG) is a multi-disciplinary and multi-functional division within the Department of Transport whose role it is to provide maritime search and rescue, maritime casualty, and pollution response service. The IRCG, with almost 1,000 volunteer members, is one of the State’s Principal Emergency Services along with An Garda Síochána, the Fire Service and Ambulance Service.