A unique centre for people injured at sea has been established at Cork University Hospital.
The services will provide 24-medical advice to injured seafarers in conjunction with the Irish Coastguard who will refer calls to the centre.
Chairman of the Southern Health Board, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe welcomed the announcement. "I have been working on this project for a number of years. I firmly believe this is going to be a major improvement to the emergency system which will potentially save lives at sea."
The service will be available to persons in distress at sea or those at risk on Irish cliffs or the shoreline. The advice will also be available to injured or sick Irish seafarers worldwide.
Accident and emergency consultant at Cork University Hospital Dr Stephen Cusack travelled to both Madrid and Toulouse to study the operation of similar centres in those countries.
"Both countries have a have a very sophisticated system in place for remote emergency care and have been very successful in the emergency treatment of patients injured at sea", said Dr Cusack.