Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the clerk to the committee for working to find a solution to the time constraints we face. It is important members get an opportunity for a proper hearing on this issue today. I welcome back the delegation. This is the big boomerang issue of the past 20 years. We had the PricewaterhouseCoopers report in 1998, the Deloitte & Touche report in 2001, the Fearon report in 2008 and now we are back dealing with the issue again. I have four questions for Mr. Maurice Mullen. Why was the Fisher report commissioned? Who commissioned it? Did the Minister request this new report and when was it commissioned? We all have one common ground on this. The people in the Visitors Gallery, the members of the delegation and ourselves all have a problem, although I do not underestimate the problem facing the delegation, be it the recruitment embargo, issues around training or the pollution control issue. Furthermore, the Minister has a problem. He has a report on his desk and if a pollution issue arises tomorrow morning off Dingle, Malin Head or in the Irish Sea, should he take responsibility or would he be in control of the situation? Therefore, he has a problem and we all have a problem. However, from consulting with everybody concerned, including the Minister and the delegates - I was delighted to see Mr. Chris Reynolds in Malin Head during the summer - I appreciate we all have solutions to this problem. Mr. Reynolds's personnel, the people in the Visitors Gallery, the volunteers, the Coast Guard units, the Minister, the fishermen, the people living along the coast and even the politicians have solutions. I am not talking about parochial backyard interests here. Deputy Noel Harrington is not a Kerry man or a Donegal man.

I have a few questions for Mr. Chris Reynolds. Has he examined the Canadian model which, effectively, is a state-run public-private pollution control model, which is very interesting and as far as I am led to believe does not require the recruitment of additional staff? It is very much a public-led programme-strategy. The Canadians have a plan that involves outsourcing to the private sector if an incident occurs. Has he evaluated in detail the potential to have a cross-Border pollution control plan? It great to have Mr. John Dallat, MLA, from Stormont here.

Obviously, there must be some form of pollution control plan for Northern Ireland. Furthermore, has this issue been considered in a British-Irish context? In the event of a tanker going down in the Irish Sea, it does not merely affect people in counties Wexford, Dublin or Louth, it also affects people on the west coast of the United Kingdom. I am aware of the existence of a pollution control plan within the United Kingdom, although I suppose one must be careful of calling it the United Kingdom at present, given the differences of opinion in Scotland as to whether it will remain that way in the future. Is there a follow-up from the joint bilateral agreement between the Taoiseach and David Cameron in April 2012 regarding more bilateral co-operation on a United Kingdom-Ireland basis? In a practical example that hopefully will take place before the end of the year, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte, and his British counterpart, Ed Davey, will sign a joint declaration on a memorandum of understanding on a British-Irish basis in respect of energy. Has either the Department or the Coast Guard considered the potential for British-Irish co-operation?

As for the boomerang issue that keeps coming back to haunt us all, namely, the stations at Malin and Valentia, has consideration been given or detailed exploration made of the potential to really engage with the Coast Guard units, the volunteers and the local authorities to draw up a consistent plan that takes in all the Departments? Everyone is familiar with the difficulties pertaining to regulation and associated with people in Ireland looking after their own patch and their own piece of turf, as well as with interdepartmental blockages. Has real consideration been given to the possibility of taking an overall holistic approach to all the issues? There are many issues, including those pertaining to safety at sea and lifejackets, as well as incidents to be considered by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney. Other issues concern the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar. Given the existence of so many issues with cross-departmental dimensions, has consideration been given to examining a holistic approach under the umbrella of the Taoiseach and the plan produced by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth, not simply in respect of resources, but also in respect of safety at sea and maritime issues? Finally, in the context of the further analysis that I assume will take place, I will direct some questions to Mr. Maurice Mullen. Will it be carried out in-house or on an independent basis? Have terms of reference been drawn up and what is the timeframe?