The technical general secretary of the Consellería do Mar, Marta Barreiro, has downplayed the seriousness of the situation reported by the BNG in the Gardacostas service, referring to it as "transitory limitations," in contrast to the "precariousness" that the Bloc attributes to a staff roster in which it estimates that 30% of positions are unfilled.
During her intervention in the Parliament's economy committee, nationalist deputy Rosana Pérez warned that the lack of resources "compromises surveillance work and maritime rescue," as well as control tasks against poaching on the Galician coasts.
In her reply, the technical general secretary of the council pointed out that "the transitory limitations of this personnel, of the service, must be simultaneous coincidences of several internal administrative processes," attributing the situation to the concurrence of different internal procedures.
Barreiro detailed that there are retirements that "can be foreseen," but stressed that "there were many processes," including consolidation "and many more," which "sometimes make it difficult to make that forecast," which, she indicated, complicates precisely adjusting the planning of personnel.
"In any case," she noted that the selective process to incorporate 23 new skippers and mechanics is "in its final phase," while the 2026 public employment offer includes another 22 positions for the operational scale, whose call "will be published in the Official Gazette with maximum speed."
At the same time, she insisted that the Xunta guarantees "100%" essential services of rescue, pollution control, and protection of marine resources, despite incidents derived from the lack of personnel.
Beyond "some punctual interruption of the service due to these inconveniences," Barreiro defended "the work of the professionals" of Gardacostas and maintained that it is a service that "is a benchmark throughout Spain."