Mr. Michael Kingston:

I thank Deputy O'Rourke. I think the issues I have raised do relate to this Bill, which is amending the legislation that was put in place in 2000 following the findings of the review group in 1998. The Secretary General's nominee and the chief surveyor have been removed from the board, but the whole problem surrounding the failures also needs to be addressed. I refer to the mere fact that this is a part-time board with panel investigators and the whole mechanics of the MCIB are failing. Now is the opportunity to change that. For example, as I set out in my briefing note, we have a part-time board and part-time investigators with investigators appointed to a panel on a short-term basis with minimal support, co-operation or training. By the very nature of their work, they are also mainly compromised. The quality of reports has been poor, the recommendations poorly thought out and, on the whole, are regarded by the maritime industry as poor. This is to be expected where there is no investment or motivation to set high standards. The proposed Act will effectively be a continuation of the current system.

In 2019 we spent €27,000 on investigators in the field on ten incidents, including six deaths, which is €2,700 per death. If we compare this with investigators in the field in the aviation and rail industries, there are investigative units with a full-time investigator. A total of €750,000 was spent on aviation, where there were no deaths, and €350,000 was spent on rail. That is the amount spent on investigators in the field, leaving aside the clerical staff. That is the problem. This Act is just continuing the same board structure of part-time investigators. It is not fair to them. They are not getting proper resources or training. It is not fair to the chair to have to run all of this. We need an independent investigative unit. That is what this Act should be doing. The Bill is amending the previous system but it is just a continuation of a failed system.