Our Organisation
Coast Guard Units and support
The role of this section is to manage a nationwide maritime emergency response through 44 local units. These teams of professional volunteers respond to search and rescue incidents to locate and recover people in danger and bring them to safety.
Operations
The Coast Guard provides 24-hour coordination for all search and rescue and maritime pollution incidents. Watch officers in our three rescue centres monitor emergency radio frequencies and task helicopters, boats, other assets and services to respond to emergencies.
Aviation operations
Our aviation service provides six AW-189 helicopters and two Beechcraft B200 King Air aircraft to support rescue missions from the air. These crews carry out inland and sea searches, support the health service with medical flights for island communities, and monitor the marine environment.
Preparedness, response and planning
The Coast Guard is responsible for protecting our coastline from pollution and managing maritime casualties and works closely with local authorities and ports to ensure Ireland is ready to respond to environmental threatsand major incidents, via plan development, training and exercises. When responding to ships in trouble and coordinating efforts to stop marine pollution, the Coast Guard is guided by several laws, including the Sea Pollution Actos 1991-2006. These laws allow the Minister to appoint Coast Guard officers to act when a ship incident could cause serious pollution along the Irish coast.
PRP helps to responds to ships in trouble and coordinates efforts to stop marine pollution. Its work is guided by several laws, including the Sea Pollution Actos 1991-2006. These laws allow the Minister to appoint Coast Guard officers to act when a ship incident could cause serious pollution along the Irish coast.
Engineering and logistics
The Coast Guard builds and maintains the vital radio and technology networks that allow our rescue centres to communicate. This includes radio and test sites around the Irish coasts, a national digital paging system, and two transmitter sites. All these systems are linked to the Rescue Coordination Centres in Dublin, Malin Head and Valentia. The Coast Guard also maintains the radio and IT systems for the ship-tracking system known as AIS, and ensures all staff and volunteers have the protective clothing and equipment they need.
Safety and quality compliance
The role of this section is to make sure every part of the Coast Guard works to the same high standards. They manage our safety systems to ensure we meet all legal requirements and provide a consistent, reliable service to the public.