Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

All of us remember the circumstances and what we were doing when the news broke of the accident involving the aircraft Rescue 116 and, indeed, subsequently when it was discovered that Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Captain Mark Duffy, winchman Ciarán Smith and winch operator Paul Ormsby died in the crash on 14 March 2017. All of us send our sympathies to their families and friends as part of this discussion. We also send our sympathies to all of their colleagues who today and every night are sitting and waiting for a call to go out and possibly save somebody's life.

Following the crash, as those days turned into weeks while the search for the missing continued, people came to that part of Mayo from all over the country. We recall the openness of that community, how they welcomed people and threw their doors open. I recently heard a discussion on the radio of what it is to be Irish. We can all identify with the aspect of being Irish that was displayed at that time. When a crisis happens in our lives at any time, people rally around and come to rescue each other. That was the case in what we saw in Mayo during those days. It gave great heart to people for that to be happening in the context of such tragedy.

To the Minister's credit, he has accepted the recommendations of the air accident investigation unit. The report was delayed and the reason for that needs to be addressed. However, I am sure it brings some comfort to everyone who was involved that at least now there is a sense of certainty as to what happened and how things went so badly wrong. As my colleague, Deputy O'Rourke, has said, some of the recommendations are incredibly important and need to be acted upon immediately. Credit is due to everyone who was involved in bringing the comprehensive report together for the work they put into it. However, the report ultimately tells us these were preventable deaths that should not have happened. The mapping and the whole structure these four brave people who went out to rescue others were depending on, including the instruments and everything else they needed to do their jobs appropriately, were not there for them. The State has a responsibility for that which must be acknowledged.

We would all echo the calls for a specified timeframe around the implementation of the recommendations by the Department. Having said that, there are a number of these recommendations that warrant immediate action. My colleagues have already outlined what they are.

After reading through parts of the report, one of the main issues that requires serious consideration is the confusion at State level as to who holds responsibility and oversight of operations across Ireland. It is clear from the report that there were significant problems with the imagery and charting systems at the time of the accident. A whole island was missing from the charts. That is a reflection of what this is about and the problems we have. All of us talk about responsibility, but responsibility is not always about blame. It is about people being responsible for what they are doing, being responsible for others and recognising that if all of us do not shoulder a certain amount of responsibility, it can have devastating consequences. That is clearly what happened and continues to happen around this whole situation.

I urge the Minister to provide a specific timeframe for the implementation of these recommendations. He should act upon them without delay. While it is important to have this discussion in the House, we must acknowledge that our words will never ease the pain being felt by the families who lost loved ones on 14 March 2017.

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