The first purpose-built mountain rescue base in Ireland has opened in the Wicklow Mountains.
The €450,000 building will be used by the Glen of Imaal Red Cross Mountain Rescue Team, which provides a voluntary search and rescue service to people in difficulty in rural and uplands areas of Co Wicklow and surrounding counties.
The new facility includes a fully enclosed and secured vehicle storage area, a rescue equipment cleaning, drying and storage facility, a training room and an operations room.
Opening the base, President Michael D Higgins praised the dedication of the mountain rescue teams in Wicklow and around Ireland.
"Through their efforts, through their leadership, these volunteers are reaffirming the old decencies in Irish life and drawing on the ethical values that are being forged by our talented and energetic people of all generations; they are demonstrating community cohesion, neighbourly cooperation and creative endeavour; they are renewing our Republic so that it does full justice to the values of fairness and participation," President Higgins said.
Since its establishment in 1983, the GOIMRT has operated without fixed premises, relying on team members' homes for vehicle and equipment storage and use of community and National Park buildings for training and administration.
