Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Beamish said that in one case there was a 1% difference in the number that returned. That looks very small. However, if 5% returned in one case and 6% in the other case - because Mr. Beamish said that 95%, give or take, died at sea - that is a 20% difference in the number that returned, which is huge. Could Mr. Beamish confirm whether the 1% was on the 95% versus the 94%? Percentages can be very deceiving. A 100% increase in nothing is still nothing. It is similar to cases in which commentators say a team has doubled its lead when it is one point ahead and gets another point. It is not half as dramatic if one is 15 points ahead and doubles one's lead by another 15 points.