Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Mar Theachta Dála atá i mo chónaí in aice leis an bhfarraige, tá aithne agam go pearsanta, agus beidh ag Teachtaí eile chomh maith, ar na mná agus fir chróga atá mar pháirt den gharda cósta agus a chuireann iad féin i mbaol go minic ar mhaithe le sláinte agus sábháilte daoine eile atá i dtrioblóid ar an bhfarraige. Ar an drochuair, tá amanna ann nuair a bhíonn baol agus dainséir na farraige móire róláidir. Ní thugtar buíochas ná ómós d'fhoireann an gharda cósta minic go leor ach conas nach féidir fearg a bheith ort agus tú ag léamh an dóigh ina gcaitheadh le teaghlaigh fhoirne Rescue 166 agus iad fágtha le costais dlí mar gur throid Roinn an Aire ina n-éadan ag an bhfiosrúchán. Tá sé náireach agus caithfidh an tAire é a cheartú.

On 14 March 2017, Dara Fitzpatrick, Mark Duffy, Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith, four members of the Irish Coast Guard, tragically lost their lives in the line of duty while supporting a rescue mission off the coast of Mayo. Its accident investigation unit was drawn in to carry out an investigation into what had happened and the publication of that report is still pending four years later. As the Minister stated in response to parliamentary questions here previously, the delay in the publication of that report is the result of the establishment of a review of that investigation, which we understand has been carried out at the behest of the helicopter operator, CHC Ireland.

The Minister appointed that review board. In order to have their interests represented, the families of those who tragically lost their lives quite understandably hired legal representatives to represent them at the board because they feared there would be an effort to assign blame for the accident to their loved ones. Their legal bills are now mounting, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of euro, because the Minister's officials in the Department of Transport fought against them successfully to ensure their legal costs were not awarded to them. This is scandalous.

RTÉ reported yesterday that the chairperson of the review board, Patrick McCann, has acknowledged the contribution made by the families' legal representatives at the review. It reported he had acknowledged that the families had little choice but to have legal representation given the highly technical nature of the proceedings. Despite the chairperson and sole member of that review team saying that, the Minister's officials took the most callous approach in dealing with this issue and fought the families at the review board. How on earth can the Minister's officials argue against the awarding of legal costs to these families and why did he allow that to happen? Why did he not intervene? It is an horrendous way to treat these families of four people who died in the line of duty, trying to save others.

I have one simple question for the Minister. Will he reverse this decision and ensure the families involved are awarded their legal costs in respect of their representation at the review board?

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