Madam, - On October 17th the staff at Valentia and Malin Head Coast Guard Radio Co-ordination Centres were informed that these facilities would be wound down over the next three to five years.
The Department of Transport plans to set up a new Coast Guard headquarters in Drogheda as part of the decentralisation plan. Under advice from Coast Guard management, the Department also plans to co-locate the Dublin Coast Guard Coordination centre with the HQ.
The History of Valentia Radio goes back to 1914. It is an intrinsic part of life on the island and in Co Kerry as a whole. The countless lives saved during its history are a testimony to the dedication and hard work of its staff.
The plan to close Valentia and Malin and build a new centre in an town elsewhere on the west coast reverses a decision in 2003 by former Minister for the Marine Dermot Ahern. He decided then to close the Dublin centre, set up HQ at Drogheda and upgrade Valentia and Malin Head as the two coordination centres for the Coast Guard.
The loss of these jobs to the rural community of Valentia will rip the heart out of the community and is equivalent to 500 or more jobs lost to an urban centre. It is well known that our rural communities in Ireland are suffering badly as a result of the rapid decline in the building industry, farming and the fishing industry. In South Kerry alone the population declined by 48.9 per cent between from 1926 and 2006.
The Government is currently signalling that public expenditure will have to constrict. Is it not a strange plan to close two existing centres and spend millions of taxpayers' money on a new facility elsewhere on the west coast in addition to the millions needed for a headquarters in Drogheda? We are hoping for the support of all rural communities and of maritime and community organisations throughout Ireland to support us in our campaign to reverse this proposal. - Yours, etc,
RICHARD FORAN,
PAUDIE LYNCH,
SEANIE MURPHY,
Valentia Island Committee
Against the Closure
of Valentia Radio,
Valentia Island,
Co Kerry.