Tom Shehan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Despite its apparent remit, I have found very little reference in the entire report to the concept of value for money. In that regard, will Mr. Mullen indicate - I realise it is a very blunt question - whether Valentia Island and Malin Head are giving value for money? In the meeting I had with the Minister, he raised the issue of oil pollution prevention and response, an issue that is referenced in the report. In my view, this is nothing but a red herring. Colleagues will recall that when an incident of oil pollution occurred two years ago off the United States, that country struggled greatly to deal with it. If an oil tanker were to go down off the coast of Kerry, I am not convinced that the entire Irish Coast Guard service could deal with it. Let us be straight about this - the references to providing a pollution prevention and response service, both by the Minister and in this report, are, to be frank, mere tokenism.

There has been mention of the recruitment embargo and the constraints on public sector staffing resources, but it is my understanding that there is no ban on recruitment for emergency services. In fact, such recruitment may be initiated at the behest of the Minister. As such, I ask colleagues to join me to in calling on him to recruit immediately the staff required to man and provide the services at their best level. Are the delegates satisfied that the Fisher report accurately reflects the contribution made by the hundreds of volunteers in the Coast Guard? In my own area, for instances, volunteers work in Dingle, Ballybunion, Glenderry, Waterville and Valentia. Are they getting due credit for the service they provide? Is Mr. Mullen satisfied that these locations are adequately resourced to provide the service that is expected of them?

Finally, is there any timeframe for a decision on the report, a decision I assume will be made by the Minister?