Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this legislation, including amendments Nos. 6 and 7, because it is long overdue. It relates to many families going back to the Whiddy Island disaster in Bantry Bay all those years ago. I came across a case in Tipperary about which I have spoken previously. I have raised it with several Ministers. It was bizarre that we had a Marine Casualty Investigation Board populated by people with no seagoing experience. One case I dealt with involved two young men losing their lives off Heilbhic Head some years ago.

I first brought up the issue in the Chamber in 2017. This legislation is badly wanting, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I know that Michael Kingston, a maritime lawyer, engaged with the committee. I pay tribute to former Deputy Joe Carey, who was the chair of the committee, and I wish him well with his health. He was very understanding and engaging at the committee. There was significant resistance to the changes that are necessary. I do not know if this amended Bill will suffice, but it gives some hope to the many families all over the country who were left with no answers.

As I said, former members of the MCIB are protected in this Bill when they should not have been on the board. We must have full transparency and accountability. A board is there to do a job and the vast majority of boards do. The fact that some members had no seagoing experience was a complete misfit. I am terrified of water because I nearly drowned when I was a buachaill óg, but I think anyone on the MCIB should have seagoing experience. That is a basic prerequisite. Board members in other jurisdictions have that experience. That is especially the case across the pond.

As I said, families are still waiting. The O'Brien and Esmonde families in Tipperary are still waiting for answers. They lost sons and brothers in a cavalier fashion. In fairness to former Deputy Shane Ross, he visited the family with me when he was Minister for Transport. Others have been waiting for much longer. This was 11, 12 or 13 years ago. There were no proper answers or investigations. We must have this legislation but it must be fit for purpose. If it is not, it is not worth the paper it is written on. There are accidents and tragedies, and even deliberate cases where a boat is capsized by a bow wave, which happened in the case to which I am referring. There was no proper investigation. There was nothing. No evidence was secured and saved, as would happen in any crime scene. If there is a fatality as the result of an accident on a road, the road is rightly closed off. The technical bureau is brought in and evidence is secured and stored. In the case in question, even the engine of the boat disappeared from Dungarvan Garda station. It was in safekeeping in a 24-hour compound but it disappeared. This was a bizarre incident. I will talk to the Minister of State about it another time. I hope that this legislation will bring some solace to the families of those two young men who went out on a rib for a day's fishing off Helvick Head. They went safely, but a bow wave from a big vessel turned them upside down. A whale watcher, who was 600 yards away, could hear them screaming for help. They were left in the water to drown.

I am grateful for the work on this Bill and I thank the Minister of State for finishing it. Anne-Marie O'Brien and her dad have been up here several times. The lives of those they lost cannot be brought back, but they want a situation whereby if fatalities occur, proper, meaningful, well-resourced and qualified personnel will carry out investigations so other families will not have to go through what the O'Brien family has gone through for over a decade. I salute Ms O'Brien's tenacity and the way in which she has done all the research and fought for justice.

Meetings with the Garda are still awaited. People who were on the sea and affected by the same bow wave came forward a year later. They volunteered to come forward to give evidence but the Garda never took that evidence. That is unacceptable. We need proper, robust legislation, and it will be a big pity if this legislation is not up to scratch. There are many other affected families and there will be more. There obviously will be more accidents as the result of weather and everything else. The incident I am talking about was no accident. I hope the Bill will bring some solace.

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