Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. I reiterate the importance of the use of personal beacons by all fishing crew. Where a vessel flounders, an on-board device is activated immediately which gives its location and thus assists in the rescue effort. However, if a boat sinks and somebody is lost, the chances of recovering his or her remains are not good. In the south east, for example, the bodies of 11 people who went missing at sea in recent years have never been located. The use of personal locater beacons should be mandatory and grant-aided. The necessity of such cannot be stressed enough.

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