Dr. Mark Mellett:

I assure the Deputy that anyone who goes to sea is qualified to do whatever is asked of him. There are legislative requirements in terms of firefighting and personal survival. We have a very sophisticated college in the National Maritime College of Ireland. The requirement to meet those requirements is there. With regard to how the flag officer utilises his resources, I would expect that he would be smart in terms of the resource available to him to ensure he can continue to meet his requirements in terms of delivery of services and at the same time, the development of personnel if, in this case, as the Deputy says, the individual was an apprentice.