Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join others in welcoming Mr. Michael Kingston to our virtual committee meeting and thank him for being a champion fighting for greater transparency and higher safety standards in the marine sector.

I have some comments and then I will put a question or two to him. I was struck by the lack of parity in money invested in marine accident investigation with the figure of €2,700 per death. It is an awful thing to quantify. At the heart of everything that the Marine Casualty Investigation Board works on is marine accidents, which leave bereaved families wanting answers. They want to know that measures will be put in place after an accident to ensure others do not lose loved ones at sea or on the water. It is alarming to see the figure of €2,700 compared to €750,000 for aviation accident investigations.

I will conclude my remarks because I want to hear from Mr. Kingston. I looked up the EU Directive 2009/18/EC. Page 2 sets out the requirement for independence of marine investigations throughout EU member states: "Such investigations should therefore be carried out by qualified investigators under the control of an independent body or entity endowed with the necessary powers in order to avoid any conflict of interest". The Department of Transport is telling us that this is procedural and we need to tighten up a loophole so that the work of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board can continue. Mr. Kingston is saying that the structure of the board, despite all the flaws that he has identified, can continue its work in the short to mid-term. Can he clarify that further for the committee?