Irish Coast Guard

Irish Coast Guard

About

The Irish Coast Guard (IRCG) does not form part of the Irish Air Corps or the Irish Defense Forces in general, rather it operates as an agency of the Department of Transport.

The Coast Guard does not have an enforcement role: fisheries patrols are carried out by the Navy and drug smuggling is a matter for Customs, the Gardai and the Navy.

Coast Guard Marine Co ordination.

The IRCG coordinates Search and Rescue (SAR) through its Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) in Dublin (located in Leeson Lane off Leeson Street) and Maritime Rescue subcenters (MRSC) at Malin Head, Co. Donegal and Valentia Island, Co. Kerry.

Each MRCC or MRSC is responsible for SAR operations and the day to day running of its allocated Division.

Helicopters

The Coast guard Helicopters are the main resource and a great benefit to the republic of Ireland. The twin-engine S61N Sikorsky medium lift helicopter has a cruising speed of 110 knots. The Sikorsky is capable of over 4 hours endurance.

Coast Guard helicopters are fitted with forward looking infrared radar (FLIR) to detect the heat signature of a person or life raft in the water.

Flank Stations

With 52 teams around the coast each coast guard unit has a team either side of them to assist if the need arises. These teams are refered to as Flank stations. The Flank stations can be called for assistance with manpower, vehicles, radios or any other relevant purpose.

RNLI

RNLI stand for Royal National Lifeboat Institution, and covers 43 lifeboat stations throughout Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, including inland stations at Enniskillen and Lough Derg.

SARDA

SARDA stands for Search and Rescue Dog Association, SARDA Ireland is a voluntary emergency search and rescue organisation concerned with the training, assessment and deployment of air scenting search and rescue dogs to search for missing persons.

Presently there are a couple of search dog teams in Ireland and there will be more in the near future.

These dogs can cover huge areas efficiently and are especially effective where human sight is limited. Airscenting SAR dogs, or non-scent discriminating SAR dogs can work where other searchers have been or where other people have passed through. They do not require a scent article. They are trained to detect the presence of any human scent in the area.

Other Agencies

As the need arises other agencies such as The Navy (Including Divers), the Garda (Including Divers), Ambulance service and the Fire Service can be accessed.