Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to speak. I raised this issue last week and he assured me I would have an opportunity to raise it in the Topical Issue debate. I appreciate being given that opportunity.

I congratulate the Donegal team. It is seldom we have an opportunity to congratulate it here, but I suppose once every 20 years is not too bad.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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What about County Louth?

Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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I wish we could say the same for the people of County Louth, but they have their own bone to pick with the Meath team.

Earlier this year there was a tragic event off Glandore when five fishermen lost their lives. Michael Hayes was the skipper of the boat involved. The bodies of all five fishermen were found, which was a tremendous comfort to their families because at least their lost loved ones had a grave to go to. That was a major help in the healing process. In 2006 the Maggie B was lost. On 10 January 2007 the Pere Charles was lost outside Dunmore East. The following night the Honeydew II was lost west of Helvick Head. Nine people in total were lost on these three fishing vessels and no body has ever been recovered. Like anyone who has lost loved ones, the families live in hope that at some stage the remains will be found and that they will have a grave to which to take their loved ones.

I understand that more than two years ago some remains, including a skull, were discovered off Helvick Head and that two femur bones were discovered off Hook Head. They are believed to be the bones of a male between 25 and 30 years old. Two years ago the Garda chief superintendent in charge in Wexford, John Roche, applied for special funding to carry out a special DNA test on the bones to discover whose they were since the initials test proved inconclusive. Consideration is now being afforded by the Garda authorities to having a nuclear and mitochondrial DNA analysis conducted on the remains. My understanding is that the chief superintendent in Wexford at the time applied for funding to carry out these special tests which it was estimated would cost between €9,000 and €12,000 and were to be carried out in Wales. Regrettably, the Department of Justice and Equality did not make the money available. All of this was kept under the radar and no one knew anything about it until such time as a detective sergeant retired recently. There was a report on 3 September on "Six-one news" on the discovery of these bones off Helvick Head and Hook Head and the story became public. As a result, the families of those whose remains are lost continue to hope some of these remains might be those of one of their loved ones. Two of the people lost on the Pere Charles outside Dunmore East were members of the Hennessy family. I know the family well. There is considerable hope that they will be able to discover some part of the remains of their loved ones.

I seek an assurance from the Minister of State and the Government that, for the sake of €9,000 or €12,000 or whatever it would cost, the State will carry out these tests and that the Department will make the money available in order that we can ascertain whether the parts of a skull and the femur bones discovered have any connection with the people lost on any of the vessels mentioned. There is dreadful anxiety for loved ones when they know that remains have been found but they do not know whether they are those of their loved ones. I appeal to the Minister of State to do everything in his power to try to ensure that at least the families know whether these discoveries have anything to do with their loved ones.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality who regrets that he is unable to be present. He is aware of the concerns expressed by the Deputy relating to the finding of human remains off the coast of counties Wexford and Waterford. It is natural that these developments cause renewed sadness and heightened expectations for the families of those who were lost in the sinking of the boats referred to by the Deputy, including the Maggie B in 2006 and the Pere Charles and the Honeydew II in 2007. We all sympathise with the desire to have some closure and resolution for those who have been sadly bereaved through the loss of loved ones at sea.

In cases of missing persons, whether at sea or on land, An Garda Síochána do all in its power to assist families and friends of those who have been lost. Where remains are recovered, either on land or at sea, the question arises of the feasibility of carrying out appropriate tests to help to determine if the remains can be identified. The Minister has been informed by the Garda authorities that inquiries to establish the identity of the human remains found have not yielded positive results to date and consideration is now being afforded by the Garda authorities to having a nuclear and mitochondrial DNA analysis conducted on the remains.

The advances provided by DNA testing are of considerable value to An Garda Síochána not only in criminal investigations but also in the identification of missing persons. Certain tests are carried out by the Forensic Science Laboratory in Ireland; other less frequently required specialised testing may be carried out abroad. While the DNA testing available here and abroad is often very effective, the advice to the Minister is that it is not always technically viable. The Garda authorities have advised the Minister that an expert assessment is being carried out of the merits of performing the tests mentioned by the Deputy. This is not simply a budgetary matter as has been suggested. The advice to the Minister is that further testing may not be successful since the extraction of DNA profiles from bones that have been in the water for a long period is rather difficult because the sea has been found to cause substantial degrading of DNA material.

It is beyond the scope of the debate to make detailed scientific judgments. Therefore, the Minister believes this assessment should be allowed to proceed and its outcome taken on board by the Garda. He acknowledges the concerns of the Deputy and others to ensure all that can be reasonably done to help the families is actually done. He shares that concern, but he is also mindful of the need not to do anything which might give rise to undue expectations about the possibilities that the available tests might provide. Accordingly, he considers that the best course of action is to await the outcome of the assessment before making more conclusive comments on the matter.

Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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I am a little confused because there appears to be no absolute commitment to continue with the testing procedures, including the more scientific testing procedures now available. It is necessary to do so. There is a contradiction because the information I have is that the Garda chief superintendent in Wexford applied for funding to carry out testing and was not given funding. The fact is that the funding has been applied for. The Minister of State suggested that if the Garda looked for funding, it would be made available. I hope this is a misunderstanding rather than anything else. If funding could be found to ascertain whether the remains found can be linked with the people missing at sea, it would be appreciated.

I appreciate that the fact the remains have been at sea for a long time makes it more difficult to prove scientifically whether they belong to missing persons but the Department should at least try to see if they can be linked to those who have been lost at sea off the south, south-west and south-east coasts.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Minister, I thank Deputy Martin Ferris again for raising this matter which has given us the opportunity for a useful and important discussion. It is clear that all in this House share the general concern to support the families of those who, tragically, have been lost of sea and to help them pursue any reasonable avenue for the recovery and identification of the remains of their loved ones.

The Minister will, of course, raise the points expressed by Deputy Ferris with the Garda authorities. He is also confident that the gardaí are doing all that they reasonably can to assist the families concerned. The Minister is hopeful that when the assessment, which is currently awaited by the Garda authorities, is finalised there will be more clarity on the possibilities of effective testing of the remains which have been found. I will bring the views of Deputy Ferris directly to the Minister and the Department's attention.