Every year the Coastguard and the rescue agencies are called on to  perform emergency life saving tasks on our lakes, rivers and seas. The Search and Rescue agencies involved include the Coastguard, the Civil Defence, the Garda and the RNLI Lifeboats.

There's no better fun than getting out on the water but being afloat is a responsibility we all need to take seriously.

These pages detail the work of the rescue agencies. We also aim to promote safety standards among pleasure boaters, and by doing so, prevent, as far as possible, the loss of life at sea and on inland waters. If you have ideas for our pages we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it