Maguire calls for All Weather Lifeboat for RNLI base at Rosses Point

Cllr Sinead Maguire has today (Monday 4th February) called on Sligo County Council to support an application for an all-weather lifeboat to be stationed at the RNLI base at Rosses Point, thus upgrading the in-shore lifeboat currently in place.

Cllr. Maguire said, “An all-weather lifeboat would provide additional rescue services for our coastal communities. These boats have an ability to travel further distances than inland lifeboats, thus offering the possibility of more rescues. They also have more safety features on-board than the current model. This would offer greater safety assurances to the volunteer crew who man the boats and brave all weathers to rescue those in trouble at sea.”

“The Rosses Point station should have the highest level of services available for such an active coastal and maritime community as Sligo. All-weather lifeboats are capable of high speed, and can be operated safely in all weather conditions. They have self-righting capabilities and are fitted with advanced navigation, location and communication equipment.”

Cllr. Maguire added, “The provision of the all-weather lifeboat would greatly improve off-shore rescue services for the Sligo region. There are all-weather lifeboats situated in Arranmore, Co. Donegal and Ballyglass, Co. Mayo, but nothing in between. Sligo deserves to have access to a first-class rescue service.”

The RNLI offers protection to hundreds of communities throughout the UK and Ireland through use of the safest, most reliable lifeboats and modern stations from which to launch them from.

In 2017, the RNLI launched 8,436 times across the waters of Ireland and the UK, aiding 8,072 people – an average of 22 people each day. The Lifeguards attended 15,558 incidents in 2017, aiding 24,044 people and provided 3.3 million preventative actions.

ENDS