MEMBERS OF THE Clare County Fire and Rescue Service continue to attend incidents along with the Doolin Coast Guard.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer with Clare County Council, Cormac Falvey confirmed that the emergency services continue to play a role alongside the Doolin Coast Guard.
Queries were tabled by Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF) at this month’s sitting of the Clare Joint Policing Committee (JPC) on the current input of the Fire Service to the Coast Guard unit in North Clare.
Deputy Crowe recalled that the Unit was stood down in November 2021, was reconstituted and is now operating again. “There was a number of transfers of roles to the Fire Service, the public and politicians were concerned it was putting more responsibilities over to ye, are ye still fulfilling those duties,” the Meelick native asked.
Falvey outlined that staff within the Ennistymon Fire Brigade got trained up while the Doolin Coast Guard unit was stood down. “As of now we’re still attending incidents with the Coast Guard,” he confirmed.
Prior to the standing down of the unit fifteen months ago, two members resigned over numerous unresolved issues with management at a national level before a further four members then tendered their resignations.
Last month, Galway Senator Gerard Craughwell (IND) urged the national Coast Guard to issue an explanation as to why it sacked ten people who remained in the Doolin Coast Guard Unit. He said the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport could investigate why private and confidential information provided by Doolin members during previous meetings with outside consultants was given to independent mediator, Kieran Mulvey.
Senator Craughwell stated, “Instead of leaving the remaining ten as the interim level, the Coast Guard sacked these ten people who should have been left because they could have done all the disciplines and were fully certified to do all tasks. Instead, the Coast Guard took back four who had resigned and took on two members who had retired a few years ago”.
