Construction has begun on a new Coast Guard station in Greystones, Co Wicklow.

The €7.03 million project will replace ageing facilities used by the local volunteer Unit, which has served the coastline from Bray to Brittas for more than a century.

The Greystones and Wicklow Coast Guard Unit has 32 volunteers who provide land, cliff and maritime search and rescue. The team has responded to 52 callouts so far this year and works closely with other emergency services including the Dún Laoghaire Unit, the Dublin based R116 helicopter, An Garda Síochána, Greystones Fire Service and the RNLI.

The new station will include an operations room, training space, drying room, stores, a boathouse and launch facilities.

The upgrade is part of a wider Coast Guard building programme aimed at improving volunteer welfare and strengthening day to day operations.

The Irish Coast Guard has almost 1000 volunteers nationwide and is one of the State’s principal emergency services, providing search and rescue along with casualty and pollution response.