Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a fear that the Minister will not honour what he is saying here. I am not blaming him but this has happened before, in 1998 and 2010. Even the Roisin Lacey report has not been published officially. Perhaps he might give a commitment in regard to that, today. On Second Stage of this Bill, reference was made by the Minister of State, Deputy Naughten, to that particular piece of work that was asked to be done by the Department but it was never published. Here we are in 2022 and we have a commitment, and I do not doubt the Minister's commitment, but I would like if he could give us a bit more reassurance and more comfort. I buy this Clinch report being published by quarter 1, but that is underlined on legal grounds. I do not know what the issue is, legally. Maybe the Minister cannot say, but legal issues tend to go on and on. As this whole issue has not been dealt with over three or four decades, it is high time it was dealt with. I would like to get some assurance from the Minister today in that regard, and he has given it, but perhaps he could nail it down even further. I also agree with Deputy O'Rourke on engaging with the stakeholders. They have been truly magnificent in their efforts, educating the committee in this field and the deficiencies that exist there. This might be a niche area but it is an incredibly important area. We are an island nation and we need to have a fit-for-purpose marine casualty investigation unit and sadly, we do not have that. If we do not properly investigate problems we do not find out what the problem is, and that problem continues to happen, again and again. That is why we are asking for these assurances. I do not doubt the Minister's bona fides but if he could give us a bit more in regard to timelines, that would be great.