John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to hear that the Minister isen route. Hopefully, he will be here for my contribution.

This Bill is being rammed through despite the opposition from all of the main fishing representative groups. Fishermen are yet again being told what to do rather than being consulted and listened to in order that the necessary compromises can be found. In my contribution I want to outline my serious concerns with regard to how the Minister and Government treat the fishing community. I will specifically refer to the case of a local fisherman in my constituency of Wicklow, CJ Gaffney, and the Gaffney family, and how they have been mistreated by the current Minister and Government.

The case revolves around the purchase of a vessel, the MV Mary Kate, by CJ Gaffney in 2007. Mr. Gaffney spent massive amounts of money on the purchase of this vessel. It was purchased in good faith and deemed fit for purpose by several surveys and passed as seaworthy by the Marine Survey Office. It was subsequently found to have a very serious stability issue, which was identified by Mr. Gaffney when the boat nearly capsized when he was out at sea. Subsequent tests revealed that there was in excess of 20 tonnes of unaccounted steel contained within the vessel. Mr. Gaffney and his family spent large amounts of money trying to rectify that serious flaw within the boat, one that had not been picked up when the vessel was deemed seaworthy. The boat was shortened and the family tried to address all of the issues. Unfortunately, money was then hard to come by and the banks intervened.

Since that time, the family has experienced serious difficulties in terms of their mental health and well-being, their welfare and, particularly, financially. Ten years ago, the current Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil, when in opposition, sat down with the family in the Arklow Bay Hotel and stated that his hands were tied because he was not in government but that if and when he found himself in government, this was an issue to which he would give serious attention and consideration.

The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, is also very aware of this particular situation because he has also spoken to the Gaffney family. The family are asking for compensation because through no fault of their own they have ended up with this mess, which is a mess that was signed off on. They are now seriously out of pocket as a result of that. This has been brought up in Europe and has been backwards and forwards with different MEPs from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin all raising it, in fairness to them. The Fine Gael MEP, Seán Kelly, received correspondence on this from the European Commission quite recently. I will quote it because it is very interesting. It says:

In terms of addressing the loss that Mr Gaffney has suffered, on a previous occasion the possibility was outlined that the case might exceptionally be addressed through the European Fund for Maritime and Fisheries, but that this was a decision for the Irish authorities as they oversee the allocation of such funding. The Commission could not instruct them in this regard.

Quite clearly, in a letter from the European Commission, the Government has been given the solution to this crazy situation which has hung over the Gaffney family for well over a decade now. The Commission has given the Government an out in pointing to a specific funding stream that could be availed of to pay compensation to this family. Unfortunately, we have seen a Minister, Deputy McConalogue, who seems to be very good at playing pass the parcel because he does not want to take any responsibility in this. It has been passed between his Department and that of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan. Neither Department is willing to take responsibility, do the right thing and use the fund that has been identified to pay out the compensation.

I listened intently to the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, when he was on "Today with Claire Byrne" on 17 September. He spoke about another very serious and important issue, namely, mica. Rightly, he said he has 100% support for the unfortunate homeowners whose houses have been blighted by mica. He went on to say the situation was not their fault, that they are living with this stress daily and nightly and that they were continuing to pay mortgages. There are great similarities between the experiences of those families and that of the Gaffney family. CJ Gaffney has a situation which is not of his making or brought about through his fault. The Government is rightly looking at the mica situation with respect to compensation for the families to help them rebuild their homes. That is the right thing to do and the process must be sped up and 100% redress given. However, the situation of CJ Gaffney is also very clear. The situation is not of his making or due to his fault. It has caused huge levels of stress and anxiety for himself and his family. Now, through Government intransigence, we have a situation where nobody in the Government is prepared to take this on and deal with it once and for all. The solution is there.

I will give the Minister of State a copy of the letter to pass on to the Minister, Deputy McConalogue. He has seen it dozens of times because Mr. Gaffney and his family have sent it on. Seán Kelly, MEP, has sent it on. There has been correspondence backwards and forwards but the Minister is refusing to take this on. At the outset, I spoke about the scepticism about how this Government and its predecessors have treated the fishing community. Is it any wonder they do not have any faith in this Government when we have fisherman in CJ Gaffney's situation and when a solution is handed to the Government, it is not willing to actually pursue it? It is not going to cost the Government a penny to compensate this family. I will give the Minister of State this letter. I ask that he please pass it on to the Minister. I heard what he said about the Minister being caught up. I would have preferred the Minister be here in person to have the conversation with me, but I will give it to the Minister of State. I ask that he take it forward. I call on the Taoiseach to act, given his previous comments to the family that when in power he would take this on and deal with it. It is now incumbent on the Taoiseach to sit down with the two Ministers who are refusing and are failing this family in terms of addressing it once and for all. I call on him to intervene to ensure the right thing is done, that this particular fund is drawn down and the compensation paid to the Gaffney family.

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