Last year was another busy and eventful one for the Irish Coast Guard. Throughout the year, the Coast Guard co-ordinated 2,554 incidents which included search and rescue, maritime casualty responses and pollution and preparedness responses.
The 44 Irish Coast Guard Units were mobilised on 1,154 occasions over the past 12 months. The Irish Coast Guard continued to support communities across the country by providing 134 air ambulance flights in support of the offshore island communities.
The Irish Coast Guard provided critical assistance to 537 people over 2024, preventing loss of life and/or delivering people to appropriate medical care. It also collaborated with the wider search and rescue community throughout 2024, with the three Irish Coast Guard Maritime Coordination Centres in Dublin, Malin and Valentia tasking RNLI lifeboats on 699 occasions, and launching the community inshore rescue service on 73 occasions.
On 8 December 2024, the first two of the Leonardo AW189 helicopters. provided by Bristow Ireland Limited under the new aviation service contract, commenced operations at Shannon Airport, while the other four helicopters are scheduled for delivery early in the new year.
Releasing the response figures for 2024, the Irish Coast Guard said: “The priority of the phased transition to the new contract was ensuring the safety of the helicopter crews, Irish Coast Guard members and other stakeholders who will be working alongside the helicopters. This important milestone was achieved through positive collaboration between the two contractors and the Department of Transport and support from the wider search and rescue community.
“The other three SAR (Search and Rescue) bases in Dublin, Sligo and Waterford are continuing the transition to the new contract and will commence operation in the first half 2025. The Coast Guard also looks forward to welcoming the first fixed-wing aircraft to the IRCG fleet in the coming weeks “
Joanna Cullen, Assistant Secretary General at the Department of Transport with responsibility for the Irish Coast Guard, said that 2024 was an important and busy year for the Irish Coast Guard. She thanked all members of the Irish Coast Guard whom she said have shown, once again, their dedication to keeping the Irish coastline safe.
“I want to particularly extend my appreciation to the staff at the three Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres, who remain vigilant both day and night and ensure our critical work continues,” Ms Cullen added.
