Irish Coast Guard Responded to 2793 incidents in 2025
Over the course of 2025, the Irish Coast Guard managed 2793 incidents, ranging from search and rescue operations to maritime casualty responses, as well as pollution control and preparedness activities.
The 44 Coast Guard Units were deployed 1187 times during the year, continuing to play a vital role in safeguarding communities nationwide. This included 933 helicopter missions including medical support for offshore island communities.
In total, the Irish Coast Guard provided life-saving assistance to 1941individuals in 2025, either preventing loss of life or ensuring timely access to medical care. Collaboration remained central to our efforts, with the three Rescue Coordination Centres in Dublin, Malin, and Valentia tasking RNLI lifeboats on 798 occasions and activating the community inshore rescue service 121times.
The Irish Coast Guard reached a milestone in its aviation capability, with the AW189 helicopters operated by Bristow Ireland commencing operations from bases in Shannon, Dublin and Sligo and Fixed Wing operations going live from Shannon in September 2025. This strategic expansion ensures that the IRCG has responded more effectively to emergencies, ensuring rapid deployment and improved coverage across Ireland’s coastline and inland areas throughout 2025.
The additional aviation capacity has already proven critical in 2025, a year marked by extreme and unpredictable weather conditions. These conditions placed unprecedented demands on emergency services, requiring rapid and coordinated responses across multiple regions. With increased resources and operational flexibility, the Coast Guard has also delivered enhanced support for Principal Response Agencies (PRAs) nationwide ensuring that communities affected by flooding, coastal emergencies, and other weather-related incidents received assistance and life-saving interventions.
