The number of people assisted by the Irish Coast Guard rose by 20 per cent in 2010 to 3,570.
The service attributed the increase to added assistance provided during the recent cold spell, when it helped with a number of extra activities including transporting healthcase staff and patients to medical centres and airlifting animal feed to farmers who
The Coast Guard said it responded to 1,839 incidents in 2010, a figure which is consistent with the previous year.
The service also provided assistance to cases involving 49 fatalities during 2010.
"A very positive development from the statistics, is the notable decrease in the number of incidents we responded to last year that involved leisure/recreational activities; the main ones being those that involved leisure craft and separately, diving incidents," said Declan Geoghegan, manager of the Irish Coast Guard
However, he said that while there was a decline in call-outs related to leisure activities there was a marked increase in the number of hoax calls and false alarms.
Mr Geoghegan said the Irish Coast Guard was actively working with the gardaí to address this issue. "Coast Guard units right around Ireland are on standby today, as we are 24/7 to respond to incidents, to provide assistance and to save lives. This is important work and something we take very seriously indeed."
