Fears have grown over the future of Doolin Coast Guard after the unit was suspended last week following the resignation of six volunteers members on Monday 1 November.
As the Irish Examiner reports, the Co Clare coastguard unit — which is now left with just five active and fully trained volunteers out of a complement of 11 — has been stood down.
However, Inis Óirr Coast Guard in the Aran Islands, which comes under the direct management of the Doolin unit, will remain operational.
One coastguard member said the situation that involves accusations of bullying within the service “has been simmering in Doolin for years”.
“Each and every one of those members was an invaluable asset to the service. Dublin [management] wasn’t blindsided by this but they blindly let it happen,” they said.
In a statement, the Irish Coast Guard said it “acknowledges the divisions that have unfortunately existed within the unit for a number of years”.
It added that it “will continue to offer support to all those affected by this event, and with the aim to strengthen the unit’s management structure, provide relevant training and mediation services as may be required, and return the unit to operational readiness as quickly as practicable”.
During the week the Dáil was told that the “toxic” working environment at Doolin is replicated “up and down” the country, according to The Irish Times.
It follows a report last month that paints “a picture of friction and strain” between the coastguard rank-and-file and upper management over claims of poor treatment of volunteers.
Meanwhile, a maritime lawyer has called for a “root and branch review” of the coastguard system in Ireland, as the Irish Independent reports.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland on Wednesday (3 November) Michael Kingston alleged a “litany of failures” regarding volunteers’ safety within the service nationwide.
It comes in the same week that the final report into the loss of Rescue 116 and its four crew in a crash off the North Mayo coast in March 2017 was severely critical of risk management within CHC Ireland, which operates the search and rescue helicopter service for the Irish Coast Guard. Afloat.ie has more on that story HERE.