The Government's commitment to decentralisation has been questioned by a north Donegal delegation which is opposed to any downgrading or closure of Malin and Valentia coast radio stations.
Representatives of the Inishowen Development Partnership appealed to Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey at a meeting in Dublin yesterday to retain the two coast radio stations in Donegal and Kerry, and to upgrade them as recommended by former marine minister Dermot Ahern.
The Irish Coast Guard and Maritime Administration has sought approval from Mr Dempsey to establish two national marine rescue co-ordination centres on the east and west coasts and to downgrade the existing stations at Valentia island, Co Kerry, and Malin on Donegal's Inishowen peninsula.
The administration has argued that much of the communications infrastructure for search and rescue is "old and in urgent need of replacement" and says that "any delay in this process could leave us vulnerable to catastrophic failure in the system".
Malin Head, the oldest operating radio station in Europe, employs 18 staff, while 17 are based on Valentia island, where radio officers have developed particular language expertise as a result of decades of contact with the Spanish fishing fleet.
Former ESB chairman Tadhg O'Donoghue has said that a "false argument" was being made by the administration in relation to power supply difficulties. Its claims in relation to inadequate telecommunications infrastructure at the two bases have been challenged by Eircom.
Séamus Bovaird, community representative with Inishowen Development Partnership, said the case made by the Coast Guard and Maritime Administration flew in the face of the Government's decentralisation plans. The grouping has raised this issue with Mr Dempsey.
Mr Dempsey was told there were no technical arguments that prevented upgrading both Malin and Valentia. It said that Eircom had a fibre-optic line installed all the way to the Malin Head exchange, 500 metres from the coast radio station.
Arguments in relation to better educational opportunities for families of coast radio station staff close to urban areas were also challenged.
"Malin is only 40 minutes from the island's fourth-largest city, Derry, and we have two universities and six institutes of technology well within commuting distance," Mr Bovaird said.
A spokeswoman for Mr Dempsey said no final decision had as yet been taken.
