Brendan Kenneally (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Browne for agreeing to share his time with me. I agree wholeheartedly with all the previous speakers. We are discussing health and safety and in my view one cannot put a price on that. I shall relate a very quick story arising from a telephone call I received from a woman who rang my office and spoke to me about her experience a number of years ago when she was on a ferry leaving Rosslare. This was before we had the 24 hour service in Waterford. It was a very rough crossing and unfortunately a man was swept overboard. The captain was informed immediately and the boat turned around. It takes a while to turn one of those vessels around. People could see the man floundering in the water. He was able to keep swimming for some time but it was too rough to launch a boat to go to him. The ship could not get too close because it would drag him underneath. The crew had called for the helicopter, which was not coming from Waterford, but a few minutes before it arrived that man drowned. He could not keep going any longer.

If we do not bring the 24 hour service to Waterford this will happen again and again. We cannot put a price on health and safety. At the briefing we had with officials in the Department of Transport last Monday, they told us it would take an extra 9.5 minutes for the helicopter to arrive during the down period in Waterford Regional Airport. That would have been too late for the man I mentioned and it will be too late for the next person if the same thing happens to somebody on a ferry or a fishing boat or to a person involved in leisure activities. It is not good enough.

We in the south east give cross-party support to this matter and are as one on it. We will not stand for the cutback and I hope the Minister of State will bring that message back to the Minister, Deputy Dempsey.

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