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Ennis coastguard base doubts

This article is from page 18 of the 2007-12-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG

SPECULATION is growing that the proposed creation of a Marine Res- cue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) in Ennis will be put on hold because of increased local pressure in both Valentia and Malin Head.

Ennis had been considered the fa- voured location for the creation of the new station, to coincide with the phasing out of facilities at Malin Head and Valentia, with Cork and Galway also in the mix.

Last week Ceann Comhairle and Kerry South TD, John O’ Donoghue spoke out against the move. In an

open letter addressed to his Fianna Fail colleague, Transport Minister Noel Dempsey, O’Donoghue stated that closing the Valentia centre would not improve service and would have a devastating effect on the locality.

With a similar movement already in operation in Malin Head, Minister Dempsey in coming under increased pressure, both from within and out- side of Fianna Fail, to reverse the decision. This could mean the end to a possible Marine Rescue Co-ordi- nation Centre (MRCC) in Ennis and as many as 50 jobs that would have come with it.

The Minister for Transport is to

meet with representatives of both groups later this week to discuss the ongoing situation.

He has already given a verbal com- mitment that no jobs will be lost as a result of restructuring work which takes place within the Marine Res- cue Service.

Minister Dempsey’s decision to faze out Valentia and Malin Head represents a u-turn in Government policy, as in 2002 the then Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Dermot Ahern, gave commitments to the future of both centres and also funded a mas- sive upgrade of facilities.

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