The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport today released the Irish Coast Guard’s rescue statistics, showing that 2012 was the Coast Guard’s busiest year since its foundation.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar has commended Coast Guard Units and volunteers across Ireland for their hard work and commitment in assisting 2,593 people and saving 161 lives this year.

The Coast Guard statistics to Saturday 28th of December detail the assistance provided in 1,963 incidents and show about an 8% increase over 2011. This means that 2012 is the Coast Guards busiest year since its foundation. The previous highest number of incidents was in 2007 when the Coast Guard responded to 1,961 incidents. The statistical average since 2000 has been 1,820 per year.

The Minister was speaking at a joint Coast Guard/RNLI New Year training exercise in Howth today (Sunday). “The Coast Guard performs an essential role all year round. I want to extend my sincere thanks to every staff member and volunteer for their efforts during 2012, and to their families who support them at every step,” Minister Varadkar said.

“Funding for the Coast Guard has been protected for the second year running in the Budget. Similarly, funding for the RNLI and Mountain Rescue will be maintained at current levels through to 2016. These are essential services and much of the cost is met by volunteers. But I particularly want to pay tribute to the huge number of volunteers who save lives every week of the year. Without these volunteers, it simply wouldn’t be possible to provide the same level of emergency response.”

These volunteers include 900 in the Coast Guard, 2,000 in the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, 300 community rescue boats and 500 mountain and cave rescue volunteers. They provide a 24 hour on-call service to respond to emergencies at sea, on our cliffs and coasts.

Minister Varadkar confirmed that a major water safety initiative will be launched this year, including a publicity campaign, new safety signs at slipways and piers, and a Safety on the Water website. RTE’s Search and Rescue programme, which involves the Coast Guard, will also promote water safety.

He also re-affirmed that the three existing marine Rescue Co-ordination Centres, which play an important role in responding to the thousands of incidents, will remain open following a review. This brings certainty to an issue which has caused much local concern in recent years.

You can read the full press release on the Department’s website.