Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I like looking out at the sea anyway. One thing has struck me all along. We were receiving information and asking questions. That is our job as public representatives. However, the core issue I kept returning to was that morale was seen to be low, divisions were seen in some units and there seemed to be a separation between central management and volunteer units. Some people also said they did not feel they were being represented by CUAG. There were organisational and HR problems, and that ultimately resulted in one unit having to be stood down. How is all that being dealt with? I was formerly a schoolteacher and I had to get on with the teachers around me, but it was not a life or death scenario, whereas when the witnesses are out on a rescue mission at sea, they would have to get on with the people around them who are manning the vessel with them or holding ropes or apparatus. How is that going and what has the Irish Coast Guard done in the past six months to boost morale, to improve connectivity between headquarters and units and to deal with the representational issues and divisions? What has happened and what can the witnesses tell us to appease our concerns in that regard?