John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister outlined some of the measures that have been implemented. People are voting with their feet and continuing to leave. The one area that can and should be addressed is the full implementation of the working time directive. I ask the Minister again what exemptions are being looked at. Are naval patrols one of the areas being considered for an exemption? If so, it will only see a continuation of the haemorrhaging of members of the Naval Service. We should be trying to stop that and giving people incentives to stay in the Naval Service.

In the first two months of this year alone, we have seen the cancellation of 24 naval patrols. Two ships are tied up. They are mothballed. What is the economic loss to the State? Has an assessment been carried out on our fisheries, an area worth millions of euro to the economy? What assessment has been done of drug interception? What assessment has been done of the loss of potential investment relating to the failure to secure our data cables, in a scenario where 99% of transcontinental cables pass through Irish waters? Have assessments of those three critical areas been carried out because of the failure to address the crisis?

See this speech in context