Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking the question. There seems to bit of a Cork contingent here tonight, for a change. I wish to read into the record a statement from the Sinn Féin spokesperson on Gaeilge, the Gaeltacht, arts, culture and heritage, Deputy Ó Snodaigh. It is to do with the scrapping of the LÉ Eithne. It states:

Opting to scrap the vessel without even doing a cost-benefit analysis into the alternative of using it as a museum is bad policy-making. Even worse is the fact that this wasn't even discussed with the Minister responsible for our cultural heritage and museums.

It will cost a significant sum of money to scrap the vessel, a cost that would be better put towards developing it as a tourist attraction that could recoup money by drawing tourists from far and wide, generating investment and creating jobs locally. This could form a must-see draw in Cork's tourist offering, similar to Naval museums in other countries, while also complementing the other maritime museums/exhibits across Ireland such as in Dún Laoghaire, Belfast, etc.

Other cities spend millions building replicas of ships to showcase their maritime history. We don't have to start from scratch, we have a stellar example of Irish shipbuilding and naval excellence in our hands, ready to be used to tell our island nation's naval story, if we would only take the chance.

It would be a disappointing waste to dispose of the LÉ Eithne for good.

My uncle served as chief petty officer on the LÉ Deirdre. I also have cousins in the navy, as well as cousins who are retired from it. I wanted to raise this issue because of the potential for tourism. We have always said that 0.1 of an investment gets fourfold back. The vessel is there. We have the harbour. We are trying to promote tourism. Spike Island is down there and liners come in at Cobh. This would be an amazing testament to the shipbuilders because this ship was built in Verolme dockyard. The amount of history there is a testament to our shipbuilders and the crews who sailed on the ship. As mentioned in the statement, on top of that is the possibility of jobs. We are also promoting our proud history. It would be an amazing testament to mark that for the people who were involved throughout the history of the ship.

I know it costs a lot of money to scrap these ships. When the Naval Service has to buy a ship, it is extortionate money. The latest information is that nearly €16,000 has been spent on just moving the ship from Haulbowline. That is money that could be invested better. The LÉ Aisling was sold at public auction in 2017 for €110,000. It was not a good investment to let a ship like that go. That is why I wanted to raise the matter, even just to go back and do a cost-benefit analysis, balancing whether it is worth scrapping this ship and towing it away or making it a museum and having it showcased in Cork, where we are very proud to have that naval base and its history and that of shipbuilding in Cobh. It is a no-brainer to promote that. We already have plenty of liners coming in and we will take many more. We also have the history of the Titanic and the Titanic Experience Cobh. This would be one of the best, no-brainer complements to the history of Cork. I am interested to hear what the Minister of State's response will be, even to see the cost-benefit of this in tourism and jobs.

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