Members of the RNLI in Buncrana, Co Donegal, are unable to launch the largest of their three lifeboats because a channel through which the lifeboat has to travel hasn't been dredged for over six months.
The William Luckin lifeboat, at the RNLI's station at Buncrana harbour, could not respond to three call-outs since last June, the latest last month, because the emergencies occurred at low tide.
"I'm not overstating the issue when I tell you that lives are at risk because the channel hasn't been dredged because of some administrative omission," said Mr Liam Magee, lifeboat operations manager at the Lough Swilly station.
"We have two other inshore lifeboats at our disposal, but for out at sea emergencies we need the William Luckin, a Tyne class lifeboat which we received in September 2000. It is crewed at any time by six of our 27 volunteers and it was called out last month during an emergency but yet again because we were at low tide, we couldn't launch it.
"Since we received the William Luckin we have had 48 emergencies which we have responded to but it's frustrating and dangerous when, because of the non-dredging of the channel, the William Luckin could not get out of berth on three occasions.
Mr Magee said it was the responsibility of Donegal County Council to ensure the channel is dredged. However, "they've told us they don't, at present, have the proper licence which is issued by the Department of the Marine".
He said the William Luckin cannot be launched for a four hour period before, during and after low tides each day otherwise it would get stuck in the channel.
"We just can't get out and because of that lives are potentially being put at risk. All we want is for the channel to be dredged so that we can get access to the deep waters of the Swilly and out to sea. If the channel is dredged, then we can get out and do what the RNLI is there to do, provide a life saving service for people in distress at sea," he said.
The senior engineer responsible for marine developments with Donegal Council Council said yesterday that the channel could not be dredged by them until a licence and funding was granted to the council by the Department of the Marine.
Mr Vincent Lynn said the council had applied to the Department for a foreshore licence to enable the dredging to continue. "Because of a technicality when we omitted to put on display the Environment Impact Assessment report in Buncrana Garda station, we did not fulfil our requirements to apply for the licence. We are now in the process of going through that again.
"Our application will be re-submitted in about four weeks time and assuming there are no objections, we hope the licence will be issued in about six weeks time.
"We have applied for €150,000 of funding to dredge the channel which will only be released to us if the conditions of the licence are met by us and the dredging job will only resume when we have the licence and funding," said Mr Lynn.