Kerry and Donegal County Councils have decided to join forces to fight plans to close the Irish Coast Guard stations at Valentia Island and Malin Head.
It was decided at a meeting yesterday that the local authority in Kerry would picket the Dáil to retain the historic Valentia station which looks out onto the Blaskets and the Atlantic Ocean.
The plans for closure of the stations are currently with Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey and are understood to have the support of both Coast Guard management and the Minister.
Under the proposals, the marine rescue sub centres in Kerry and Donegal would move to a major urban area on the west coast, probably near Shannon or Limerick.
However, the closure of Valentia was not logical, it flew in the face of decentralisation policy and undermined the Government's claims of being committed to the rural regions, angry councillors and senior council management told a meeting of Kerry County Council yesterday.
In a reference to former minister for the arts John O'Donoghue, Cllr Dan Kiely (FF) said: "It is unfortunate we don't have the political clout of a minister down there (in Dublin) because he's now Ceann Comhairle."
Cllr Paul O'Donoghue (FF), the brother of the Ceann Comhairle, said Mr Dempsey has to listen to the people, and reverse any moves to close Valentia.
Cllr O'Donoghue said the near century old Valentia Coast Guard station was the busiest in the country when it came to dealing with serious marine incidents and its staff were highly skilled. Just three years ago, following a Deloitte and Touche report, Valentia was earmarked for upgrading by then marine minister Dermot Ahern.
"You don't close these facilities, you enhance them," Cllr O'Donoghue said, describing the closure as an outrage.
Valentia's proud history as a major centre of communications had been sustained since 1858 when the first messages were sent along the transatlantic cable which came ashore on the island, the meeting heard.
Kerry and Donegal would suffer if the closures went ahead and more Coast Guard stations, not fewer, were needed in the fight against the importation of drugs on the southwest coast, said Cllr Michael Connor-Scarteen (FG).
A delegation from south Kerry met with councillors in advance of yesterday's monthly meeting.
County manager Tom Curran said: "There doesn't appear to be any logical reason, financially or otherwise, for closing the Valentia station and removing highly skilled jobs from Kerry."
The removal of the jobs was a vote of no confidence in Kerry and it was pulling the rug from under efforts at job creation by the local authority as well as job creation agencies, the manager said. Mr Curran said his counterpart in Donegal had been in touch with him with a view to going on a joint deputation to Dublin to argue against the plans.
Councillors unanimously agreed to this.
"We have the potential in Valentia not alone to sustain the 17 jobs, but to increase how many can be employed there. There is no reason to close Valentia," Mr Curran said.
The claims in an official report recommending the closure of Valentia because of poor telecoms infrastructure and electricity supply had been directly refuted by Eircom and the ESB, the meeting heard.
Cllr Pat McCarthy (FG) said the closure was another example of a peripheral county suffering at the hands of bureaucrats.