Search & rescue services cut in southeast

Dum_Dum

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0315/coastguard.html

"...Search and rescue helicopter bases in Dublin, Shannon and Sligo are to remain with 24-hour cover, but the Waterford service operated from Waterford regional airport is to be reduced to a 12-hour, daylight only service. This would save an estimated €1m per year...."

Another kick in the teeth for the south east.

alpha2zulu

Indeed, another kick for the SE. Since the local base has been involved in so many high profile night time rescues on the trawler fleet in the past few years, its particularly worrying to see the cutback in service.

So is the advice now that if your going to have a boating accident, make sure its within normal office hours...

mike65

Pathetic stuff, a saving of a million a year sounds a lot and yet in the context of a 500 million contract is buttons. I suspect the penny pinchers on the Dept of Finance are expecting the RAF in Wales to take up the slack as and when.

Oh wait - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=201176088412

There are plans to reduce helicopter cover at Chivenor from 24 hours to 12 hours a day so the South West and South Wales would have very limited cover at night.

The 24 hour service currently covers all air sea rescue work in the area, as well as Cornwall when the Culdrose helicopters are out, Dartmoor and Brecon Beacons search and rescue, and medivac services when the Devon Air Ambulance cannot fly (at night!). Chivenor also transfers critically ill patients between hospitals

chelloveks

mike65 wrote: »

Pathetic stuff, a saving of a million a year sounds a lot and yet in the context of a 500 million contract is buttons. I suspect the penny pinchers on the Dept of Finance are expecting the RAF in Wales to take up the slack as and when.

Oh wait - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=201176088412

Maybe the French can cover the SE? Yeah, lets ask the French for help!

tankbarry

U will be looking at alot of job losses out there too if the helicopter goes.....25 jobs are dependent on that.... but more importanly peoples LIVES will be at risk.... all people using the southeast waters and others places will be in serious trouble if they are counting on a fast response

hardybuck

With water comes danger, and in particular you'd think in light of the terrible high profile tragedies which have struck the stretch of coast between Wexford and Cork, that this service would be seen as essential.

€1m measly euro, and whoever made this decision will unfortunately have blood on their hands. Total disgrace.

Trotter

There is no way on earth we can allow this to happen lads and ladies. Its 2 fingers to us in the South East again.

You have to have 24 hour cover on areas with major sea ports, but yet again, Waterford has no voice up there where keeping western TDs happy is more important than South easterners lives.

Im SICK of it.

Bodan

Shortly after Cullen resigns, there are cuts in the south East. CIE are talking about closing the Limerick to Rosslare line and now this. I can help but wonder what's next.

Professey Chin

Bodan wrote: »

Shortly after Cullen resigns, there are cuts in the south East. CIE are talking about closing the Limerick to Rosslare line and now this. I can help but wonder what's next.

At this rate im guessing theyre gonna get rid of both bridges and let us float away :mad:

Trotter

We owe it to the people of coastal areas in Wexford, Waterford and East Cork to do everything we can to overturn this utter tripe.

I've sent emails to our "TDs".. and anyone else I could think of up there.


Feel free to voice your concern..

brendan.kenneally@oireachtas.ie
john.deasy@oireachtas.ie
martin.cullen@oireachtas.ie
brian.oshea@oireachtas.ie
eamon.gilmore@oireachtas.ie
enda.kenny@finegael.ie
eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Dan.Boyle@oireachtas.ie
john.gormley@oireachtas.ie
taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie
noel.dempsey@oireachtas.ie

Beeker

Trotter wrote: »

We owe it to the people of coastal areas in Wexford, Waterford and East Cork to do everything we can to overturn this utter tripe.

I've sent emails to our "TDs".. and anyone else I could think of up there.


Feel free to voice your concern..

brendan.kenneally@oireachtas.ie
john.deasy@oireachtas.ie
martin.cullen@oireachtas.ie
brian.oshea@oireachtas.ie
eamon.gilmore@oireachtas.ie
enda.kenny@finegael.ie
eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Dan.Boyle@oireachtas.ie
john.gormley@oireachtas.ie
taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie
noel.dempsey@oireachtas.ie

Well done Trotter. I plan to do the same. Hopefully others will follow.
This can not be allowed to happen. The people of the Southeast need to standup now and prevent this disaster.

Trotter

Beeker wrote: »

Well done Trotter. I plan to do the same. Hopefully others will follow.
This can not be allowed to happen. The people of the Southeast need to standup now and prevent this disaster.

If they let this go to 12 hour, the next step will be to shut it down. I've seen the work these lads and ladies do at first hand, and trust me, they are people and a service that the city and county just cannot afford to lose.

I wonder if a mod might put a redirect of this thread into the county forum so we can get our heads together? This is most certainly not a county/city thing. It could effect all of us.

It could be any of us that needs these people to come along at night and rescue us. We have to be loud on this one.

jo06555

The amount of times i see the helicopter bein used flying over my house i was shocked to hear they plan on cutting it , its a joke , a much needed service and we the south east suffer all because of money , unfortunately if this does happen lifes will be lost.:(
Join their facebook page i joined today ,if it helps in anyway at least we can keep up to date maybe
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=194533107565&ref=mf

Beeker

Lets not forget this is not just a Waterford thing. They cover the Southeast. So Wexford, Waterford and Cork coast lines as well as in land, Mountains and rivers in these counties aswell as Kilkenny, Tipp and anywhere else they are required 24 hours a day including Christmas day. This cannot be allowed to happen:mad:

JohnC.

It's unbelievable. €1 million is nothing in the grand scheme of things. It really isn't worth halving a vital service for that.

jayboi

This would sicken your stomac when you pick up a paper and read about all the golden handshakes and payoffs that the government is handing out. For the love of god Roddy Malloy and Patrick Neary got golden handshakes that came to nearly double the 1 million saved.

Id be all for a try up to dublin and beating the money out of someone. We could ask Mary Coughlan or John O Donoghue they seem to be handing it out willy nilly.

Id love to know what our local representives in the Dail have to say eapecially Kenneally.

Trotter

I've spotted this from Brian O'Shea. Incidentally, he came back to my email within minutes.

http://labour.ie/press/listing/12686700328370981.html

Here's the text of his statement..

I was shocked to hear today that the Government has plans to reduce to a daylight-only operation, the marine search and rescue service at Waterford Regional Airport.

Over the last two years we have seen the government embark on one crude cost-cutting exercise after another, but this is a step too far, and the people of Waterford and the South East will simply not stand for it

Effectively the Dept of Transport is saying that the safety of fishermen in other parts of the country is more important than that of fishermen in the South East.

There is no justification for this, and I demand that the Government scrap this unfair and unreasonable plan. I will be raising this most serious matter in the Dail next week.

This Government somehow believes that people in the South East will take any type of ill-treatment, and not retaliate come a general election. This region deserves it fair share, just as any other region does, and the days of short-changing the South East must end forthwith.

Dum_Dum

Bodan wrote: »

Shortly after Cullen resigns, there are cuts in the south East. CIE are talking about closing the Limerick to Rosslare line and now this. I can help but wonder what's next.

Next is the withdrawal of funding for the airport extension:

http://www.munster-express.ie/business/no-funds-for-airport-runway-extension/

Beeker

Trotter wrote: »

I've spotted this from Brian O'Shea. Incidentally, he came back to my email within minutes.

http://labour.ie/press/listing/12686700328370981.html

Here's the text of his statement..

Yeah he replied to my e-mail straight away. So fast in fact he could not have read it:rolleyes:

flan59

Plenty time before the Green Party Conference in Waterford to get a signed petition to hand in

decies

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=10150150711115179&ref=nf

deisedol

Trotter wrote: »

If they let this go to 12 hour, the next step will be to shut it down. I've seen the work these lads and ladies do at first hand, and trust me, they are people and a service that the city and county just cannot afford to lose.

I wonder if a mod might put a redirect of this thread into the county forum so we can get our heads together? This is most certainly not a county/city thing. It could effect all of us.

It could be any of us that needs these people to come along at night and rescue us. We have to be loud on this one.

totally agree this is not just a city issue, and we should also get a thread going in all the south east area including kilkenny, carlow and wexford. This is a very serious issue for all living in the South East. This is a scandal that the SE is being discriminated against again. We are educationally discriminated against with the lack of a university in the region and now they have no value on our lives too. Revolution i say.....for basic human rights in the South East of the country. It seems the power base is moving further and further away from the South East.

Beeker

deisedol wrote: »

totally agree this is not just a city issue, and we should also get a thread going in all the south east area including kilkenny, carlow and wexford. This is a very serious issue for all living in the South East. This is a scandal that the SE is being discriminated against again. We are educationally discriminated against with the lack of a university in the region and now they have no value on our lives too. Revolution i say.....for basic human rights in the South East of the country. It seems the power base is moving further and further away from the South East.

Done

Run_to_da_hills

Waterford should not stand up for this, your city and county is now being taken for a ride by the state.

Between the loosing of the Rosslare line to the east and possibly the Limerick Junction to the west and now there is news of this nonsense.

A face book page must be set up in similar lines to this to help prevent deterioration in essential services.

Trotter

More email addresses..

brian.crowley@europarl.europa.eu
alan.kelly@europarl.europa.eu
sean.kelly@europarl.europa.eu

honeybadger

its simply unbelivable that this is happening after some of the more high profile tradegeys and rescues in recent times happen along the coast here :mad:

honeybadger

ah i duno altogether ,,lenister house needs to get the cleaners in period

Deise Tom

I'm putting this on the Waterford City section of the South East section as it is one of the better viewed sections of this section of the forum. If i put it on the other sections it would be taken down.


What a disgrace the Department of Transport is, if it carries out it plan do cut the hours the helicopter at Waterford Airport. You are playing with lives and everyone in the south east and cork should get them to change their mind and fast.

Clano

This is already being discussed here tom
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055855149

James Mccartan

Help save Southeast 24 hour Search and Rescue Service

http://www.rinnasharksac.net/portal.htm

click on link

Sully

Topic Merged

Sully

James Mccartan wrote: »

Help save Southeast 24 hour Search and Rescue Service

http://www.rinnasharksac.net/portal.htm

click on link

Mod Note:

What has the link got to do with the campaign? Not seeing anything sticking out only photographs and pop-up boxes...

Stop plugging the link all over this topic, please. Thats considered spamming and next time a ban will be issued.

Thanks.

Topic Cleaned

James Mccartan

Sully wrote: »

Mod Note:

What has the link got to do with the campaign? Not seeing anything sticking out only photographs and pop-up boxes...

Stop plugging the link all over this topic, please. Thats considered spamming and next time a ban will be issued.

Thanks.

Topic Cleaned

If you can not see an on line poll or information about how we plan to help save this important service you should go to specsavers .
We have had 14500 hits on our site in the last two weeks do not need to play games.

good bye
MR MOD

Sully

James Mccartan wrote: »

If you can not see an on line poll or information about how we plan to help save this important service you should go to specsavers .
We have had 14500 hits on our site in the last two weeks do not need to play games.

good bye
MR MOD

Goodbye.

Bodan

Dum_Dum wrote: »

Next is the withdrawal of funding for the airport extension:

http://www.munster-express.ie/business/no-funds-for-airport-runway-extension/

:mad: , the irony in the article is that they said "in the current financial climate, his priority would be safety and security related projects." You couldn't make it up.

Beeker

Have posted this topic on all the boards in the south and southeast but sad to say it has received very little response.:(

decies

Beeker wrote: »

Have posted this topic on all the boards in the south and southeast but sad to say it has received very little response.:(

No worries i think there is enough outrage in waterford with this.

Deise Tom

Trotter wrote: »

We owe it to the people of coastal areas in Wexford, Waterford and East Cork to do everything we can to overturn this utter tripe.

I've sent emails to our "TDs".. and anyone else I could think of up there.


Feel free to voice your concern..

brendan.kenneally@oireachtas.ie
john.deasy@oireachtas.ie
martin.cullen@oireachtas.ie
brian.oshea@oireachtas.ie
eamon.gilmore@oireachtas.ie
enda.kenny@finegael.ie
eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie
Dan.Boyle@oireachtas.ie
john.gormley@oireachtas.ie
taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie
noel.dempsey@oireachtas.ie

Dont forget to contacts Tds in cork, South Tipp, Wexford, Kilkenny and Wexford as well.

Trotter

I hope to God this doesnt just fade away over the weekend.. We should be ashamed of ourselves if that's allowed to happen.

Bards

Cork & Wexford TD's are up in arms too

Covney was on WLRfm news at 5 giving out yards about how the S.E SAR is more busy than the Dublin based one, and saying he knew the lads personally haing being rescued by the SAR (Waterford Based) from a boat based only last year

Micky Dolenz

When I heard of it, my first thought was "How many lives won't be saved because of this decision"

and to think they paid the FAS head 1 million quid of our money to go is a disgrace. When do we stop taking their sh1te?

Trotter

For the record, I've had responses from Brian O'Shea, John Deasy, and Paudie Coffey.

I've heard nothing from Brendan Kenneally. Theres a shock.

Drummerboy08

More than half of Irelands freight which is Transported via ferry either lands into Rosslare, or Cork. To add to that, there are a lot of passenger services to the UK and France which all starts in the south east, plus your trawlers and pleasure craft. If an area had to be cut, the South east of the country is not where I'd be doing it.

Sure the Dublin helicopter is the one to cut, with the presence of Air Corps choppers in Baldonnell?

LookBehindYou

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

More than half of Irelands freight which is Transported via ferry either lands into Rosslare, or Cork. To add to that, there are a lot of passenger services to the UK and France which all starts in the south east, plus your trawlers and pleasure craft. If an area had to be cut, the South east of the country is not where I'd be doing it.

Sure the Dublin helicopter is the one to cut, with the presence of Air Corps choppers in Baldonnell?

Surely the money should have gone to the Air Corps in the 1st place, (500 million over a 10 year period) to run all the search and rescue operations nationwide. The money would stay in this country.

alpha2zulu

If anybody needs a reminder about the fantastic service that is at stake here, then check out this excellent video made by the Airport at 01:15min in particular.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiujqNVODrk

Drummerboy08

LookBehindYou wrote: »

Surely the money should have gone to the Air Corps in the 1st place, (500 million over a 10 year period) to run all the search and rescue operations nationwide. The money would stay in this country.

Maybe so, but there is no point in arguing that now.

Where is the nearest Air Corps helicopter based to Waterford/Cork/Wexford? I dont think it would be the same level of cover regardless of location.

Beeker

John Deasy replied to my e-mail and forwarded a copy of a letter he sent to the Dept of Transport. Letter printed below:

Mr. Tom O’Mahony
Secretary General
Department of Transport
44 Transport House
Kildare St.,
Dublin 2 March 16, 2010

Dear Mr. O’Mahony,

We are writing to request an immediate meeting with you regarding your Department’s proposal to downgrade within the next two years the Coastguard helicopter service based at Waterford Regional Airport, from a 24-hour service to a 12-hour daytime service.

We are concerned that your department has constructed a tendering process that will diminish and reduce vital safety procedures and services for the southeast and southern coast and are interested in ascertaining your rationale for doing so. The practical effect of what you are proposing will, in our opinion, endanger the lives of fishermen and others who may find themselves in emergency situations, particularly at sea. We are assuming that the Department’s reasons for potentially jeopardizing the lives of people who find themselves in emergency situations are absolutely clear and we are interested in better understanding those same reasons. We believe you and your Department officials must clearly justify this course of action which in our opinion may cause the loss of life.

The fact that the southeast helicopter search and rescue service had its busiest year ever last year with 115 callouts also concerns us and we are interested to learn the callout figures for every other search and rescue service around the country. The relevant figures for every search and rescue base for the past 10 years would be helpful for us to determine how your department came to devise its tendering process and pursue its existing proposal.

Your department has indicated that the downgrading of the 24-hour search and rescue service based in the southeast could realize savings of almost €1million. We would appreciate if you could outline and itemize how that saving will be achieved and whether your department attempted to find those savings elsewhere within the overall Coastguard budget. We are also interested in how your department intends allocating the entire budget of €50 million per annum for Coastguard services around the country.

We are interested in discussing all the vital statistics and evidence you used to make this decision. For example, we would like to see figures related to ship and boat movements in the south and southeast regions relative to all other parts of the country.

As you will be aware the southeast helicopter search and rescue service is based in a region where there are three major shipping ports, Waterford, Cork and Rosslare, with new ferry services from Cork and substantial existing ferry services from Rosslare. We understand that one of the reasons given for maintaining the Dublin search and rescue service as a 24-hour service is the level of commercial shipping traffic at Dublin Port. Perhaps your department could explain why this doesn’t seem to be a factor in the case of the service based in the southeast? This is a particular source of interest to us as there have reports that the callout rate for the Dublin search and rescue service is less than that of the search and rescue service based in Waterford.

These are just some of the questions we would like to ask when we meet with you. We would also appreciate the attendance of senior representatives of the Irish Coastguard Service at the meeting. Thank you for your assistance with this matter and we look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

John Deasy T.D.

Deirdre Clune T.D.

Simon Coveney T.D.

Michael D’arcy T.D.

Paul Kehoe T.D.

Jim O’ Keeffe T.D.

P.J. Sheehan T.D.

David Stanton T.D.

Bernard Allen T.D.

JohnC.

Nice to see some movement on this.

Beeker

Kahless wrote: »

Nice to see some movement on this.

Sure is but lets hope that movement keeps going. It's all to easy to give up and move on to other issues.
Shame on us as a society if we allow this to happen:mad:

Trotter

Anyone fancy a trip to Knocktopher where the man himself will open the road?
I'd love to go but time off work isnt an option for me. I just spotted the group on Facebook and it'd be great to see a crowd make the point to the Minister that he's stepped over the line.

M9 Motorway Opening, Knocktopher, Co. Kilkenny

Trotter

http://www.download.greenparty.ie/Convention_2010/Convention%20Booklet2010web.pdf

Looks like all of the Greens are coming to town. Now theres an opportunity to show our distaste at life threatening decisions by this government. Let them have their chat in Waterford, but lets hope they carry a clear message about our Search and Rescue service back to government.

And if they would like to see our beautiful beaches and coastline, I suggest they do so before 5:30pm so we can all get used to not having proper emergency cover.

By the way, the Green spokesperson on Marine and Transport is Ciaran Cuffe. He's due to speak at that conference.

Here's his email address

Ciaran.Cuffe@oireachtas.ie

Let him know how you feel!