Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am used to meetings of the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality where discussion goes to and fro for hours on end. In any case, we will have to have Dr. Mellett back soon enough seeing as this is his first appearance.

My difficulty is that there is something of a disconnect between the talk and the reality. Dr. Mellett made the point that the Government made the decision for us to participate in Operation Sophia. While that is correct, it did so on the basis of advice and a recommendation from Dr. Mellett. In that context, when Dr. Mellett was advising the Government, did he officially notify it at the time of the manpower or staff crisis in the Naval Service? Did he officially notify the Government that the Naval Service was not in a position to fulfil its core maritime protection duties at the time?

We are aware that there was a meeting between the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority and the Defence Forces in June of this year. High-level meetings took place between the Department and the Naval Service in July and again in September. I have a letter from someone in the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority in response to a parliamentary question tabled in recent weeks. It is a hard-hitting letter and, let us face it, civil servants do not normally send hard-hitting letters to politicians. It states that the authority has significant concerns about the negative impact of the staffing issues being experienced by the Naval Service in respect of fisheries protection duties. The authority is projecting that inspection numbers for this year will be 15% to 20% lower than in 2017. That is utterly shocking.

We have heard much talk in the media about the Naval Service, which is unusual for a disciplined force and reflects discontent among the ranks. We know the LÉ Eithnecould not go out on a routine patrol. We know about the ships stuck in Haulbowline. We know about the 72 hour notice that was subsequently cancelled. These developments smack of chaos. The fact is that the Naval Service cannot undertake its sea fisheries protection duties. Two things are at issue. The first relates to a breach of the responsibilities of the Naval Service in this regard and whether Dr. Mellett officially notified the Government of the manpower crisis when advising on participation in Operation Sophia. The second relates to when Dr. Mellett made the case for a ninth ship. Did he discuss the staffing crisis in the Naval Service with the Department at the time? This is especially relevant since Dr. Mellett is not the Accounting Officer and cannot, therefore, increase the budget for recruitment. Is there a full paper trail covering when Dr. Mellett alerted the Department on that point?

The issue of retention is relevant. Dr. Mellett made the point that recruitment has started and he is delighted with that. That is grand but when an organisation recruits a new staff member, it takes a good deal of time to bring the new person into the place of the person he or she is replacing. The real problem is not only the numbers but the question of not having the right ranks with the right skill sets. In that context, will Dr. Mellett comment on the shortage of able seamen? We have been told – Dr. Mellett may be able to verify or repudiate this statement – that the ordinary seaman, effectively an apprentice, has been renamed as able seaman PQ, which stands for partly qualified, to hide the cracks. That could refer to someone who has never set foot on a ship but is about to do this job. If that is the case, it does not inspire confidence. What specific measures are in place to retain personnel? A total of €100,000 or thereabouts is what it costs to get someone to the level of able seaman. It is frightening to have that expertise wasted.

Dr. Mellett possibly touched on my next question already. How many personnel in the Naval Service currently have discharges pending? I am curious about that.

How many jobs has Dr. Mellett applied for since he took on the role of Chief of Staff? Does he not think that is a destabilising influence? If he is looking for other jobs, it might mean he is not really wedded to his current job. Will he comment on that? I will leave it at that for this round.