David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

notes that: — the Irish Coast Guard's search and rescue (SAR) helicopter service serves a vital role in saving lives at sea and supporting emergency responses across the State;

— SAR air crews are required to work 24-hour shifts, yet these shifts are being recorded as only 16.5 hours of duty time under Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) approvals; and

— this under-recording arises from "factoring" schemes, normally applied only to standby or reserve crews, which reduce a full 24-hour continuous duty period to 16 hours and 30 minutes on paper; recognises: — the dedication and professionalism of Coast Guard SAR crews, who protect coastal communities across Ireland;

— that SAR crews are required to be fully deployable within minutes throughout the entire 24-hour period, meaning the time cannot reasonably be classified as rest time; and

— the necessity of ensuring strict compliance with all working-time, safety, and fatigue-management regulations; expresses its full support for Coast Guard SAR crews and affirms their right to safe, fair and legally compliant working conditions; and

calls on the Minister for Transport and the Irish Aviation Authority to: — urgently review the system of recording SAR crew working hours;

— ensure full compliance with S.I. No. 507/2006, Council Directive 2000/79/EC, and all relevant European Union (EU) and national safety legislation;

— end the use of factoring schemes, that prevent accurate recording of the full 24-hour working period undertaken by SAR crews; and

— ensure that working time, not merely duty time, is properly recorded and regulated in accordance with EU law.

What is at stake here is very simple: the safety of the men and women who fly Coast Guard search and rescue, SAR, helicopters, and the safety of the public they serve. These crews carry out some of the most dangerous work in the State. They fly in atrocious weather at low altitude, often at night, often lifting people from cliffs or rough seas. They are literally the last line of rescue for families in Waterford, across the south east and right around our coastline. We owe them more than applause. We owe them safety, fairness and lawfulness in how they are treated.

The motion notes the serious concerns raised by search and rescue crews and their unions about the way 24-hour duties are being counted. It is a fact that under the current system, a 24-hour shift is not being recorded as 24 hours; it is being recorded as 16.5 hours. That may sound like a technical or administrative detail but it has very real consequences. By counting 24 hours as 16.5 hours, the operator is able to roster many more 24-hour shifts across the year. The result is that crews end up working longer overall, with more long shifts and more cumulative fatigue. The union view is crystal clear. This is a breach of the EU working time directive and the Irish legislation that transposed it. I agree with the union. If crews are required to work on base at their employer's disposal, ready to launch within minutes, that is work, that is duty and that is not rest. Let us be clear about the reality of the 24-hour search and rescue duty. These crews are not on standby in the ordinary sense of that term. They are in a state of immediate readiness. They cannot go home or switch off. They must be prepared to respond at any moment, often after a long day, and be sometimes into a second or even a third mission. That is why the recording of time matters.

Fatigue in aviation is not a theoretical risk. It is a known killer. We have learned this through tragedy. In 2017, we lost four crew members in the Rescue 116 crash. That tragedy led to hard-won safety recommendations that everybody in this House supported, including a strong focus on fatigue risk management. It is simply unacceptable that in the years since, we have a system that appears designed to squeeze more 24-hours shifts out of crews who are already raising legitimate safety and fatigue concerns. Over the past number of weeks, along with Deputy Conor McGuinness, I have met with SAR crew members from across the State. Those meetings have been detailed, honest and deeply concerning. The crews spoke with one voice. They are dedicated to the job, proud of service and worried about where this is leading. They described a steady erosion of working time protections, real fatigue and fear that if this continues, it is only a matter of time before another serious incident occurs. We cannot ignore that warning. In recent weeks, I also met with the Irish Air Line Pilots' Association, IALPA, which represents many of these crews. They are absolutely clear that the current system breaches the EU working time directive and domestic law. They are also clear that crews on these 24-hour duties are not merely on standby. They are in immediate readiness, on-site, at the employer's disposal and that time must be counted properly if fatigue is to be managed in any meaningful way.

The Irish Aviation Authority, IAA, has responded to media queries on this issue by pointing to aeronautical notice 58 and to fatigue risk management systems. I have two comments on that. Rules and notices are only as good as how they are interpreted and enforced. References to fatigue management systems in the context of hours is disingenuous. Fatigue management systems are about identifying fatigue risk and mitigating it; they are not a substitute for properly counting duty time. Fatigue is not solved by redefining hours but by respecting the hours, counting them honestly and rostering accordingly.

The motion calls for a number of immediate steps, the first of which is that the Minister for Transport directs an urgent review of how 24-hour SAR duties are being recorded. I do not accept, with the Minister's amendment to the motion, that he has no responsibility. The Minister has a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of crews is respected and implemented in this case. Second, we want the IAA, Bristow Ireland and the IALPA to appear before the relevant Oireachtas committee to answer questions publicly and transparently. Third, we want the crews' concerns are engaged with in good faith, not brushed aside. Deputy Conor McGuinness and I, and one of our local councillors, Jim Griffin, met with staff members. One of our councillors, Catherine Burke, raised a motion at Waterford City Council that was supported by all parties, which I think has gone to the Minister of State as well. This is an issue across many constituencies. Everybody understands the hard work and dedication of our search and rescue services. We in Sinn Féin are not going to stand by when they raise very serious risk and fatigue issues and then have them dismissed in the manner in which they have been dismissed in the Government's amendment.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

County Donegal is home to one of the busiest yet remote coastlines in the island of Ireland. We have a fishing industry, offshore workers, island communities and thousands of people who rely on Coast Guard SAR crews every year. When a boat gets into trouble off the 1,134 km of our coastline, or when a medical emergency occurs on Tory Island or Árainn Mhór, these crews are the ones that respond. They are the ones who step into the issues in the worst conditions imaginable so that others can come home safely.

This motion, with a focus on SAR helicopter services, is really important. I commend my colleague Deputy Cullinane for bringing it forward. The motion is about protecting those who protect us. I am disappointed the Government has tabled an amendment that blatantly shirks responsibility. It is not true to say that this is solely a matter for the Irish Aviation Authority. Government is ultimately responsible for ensuring a functioning Coast Guard and that workers are kept safe as possible. Our motion is needed urgently because the rules being applied to search and rescue crews are not only wrong but unsafe. New IAA approvals would increase the number of allowable 24-hour shifts in a year by 25%. This will reduce the number of hours recorded on a 24-hour shift from 18 to 16.5 under the new factoring calculations.

Experienced front-line workers, sometimes at great expense as some are currently facing disciplinary proceedings, have raised the alarm. They are telling us plainly that this increases risk. It is already a dangerous profession, so we need to listen to them. They are very concerned that it is unsafe to increase the number of 24-hour shifts in this way.

This proposal would allow for 21 more 24-hour shifts a year per worker. In County Donegal, we know how hard the Coast Guard and search and rescue crews work to protect us. It is wrong to record their 24-hour shifts as just 16.5 hours. These shifts are served on deployment or on a base where crews must always be ready to go at a moment's notice. It is essentially pretending that hours spent on deployment-ready duty somehow do not count as working time and are somehow rest time. Search and rescue crews must be fully deployable within seconds for lifesaving missions. These are crews that always have to be prepared for high-risk lifesaving missions. We know the reality of what these crews face when the call comes through; they must launch. There is no such thing as rest time for them during a shift when they can be airborne within minutes. Therefore, the Government must make sure that this practice ends, that rostering does not break Irish and EU working time rules, and that work hours are recorded properly to protect the crews and the communities they serve. If a crew works 24 hours, 24 hours must be reported, not 16.5 hours or some other artificially discounted figure. That is the law under the EU directive, and it is the basic requirement for an honest system of fatigue management.

This motion is about protecting crews, protecting the public, and ensuring that our search and rescue service remains safe and sustainable and is legally compliant. That is why the Minister of State needs to intervene. He must ensure that this practice ends. He must ensure that rostering does not break Irish and EU law and our staff have proper recognition. I am particularly conscious of many people in my own community, where the Coast Guard works with huge dedication in terms of sea rescue. We need to see a situation like that of the retained firefighters, who have recognition of their association. This means that when people who have given a lifetime of service are dealing with disciplinary issues, they have a trade union to represent them. That is not the situation at the minute. They need to be recognised as an association so they can represent coastal units and Coast Guard members across the State. The Government should ensure this happens without delay.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Every community that depends on our Coast Guard air crews knows the truth. This State, our maritime nation and our coastal communities would be lost without the people who go out when everyone else comes in. They answer calls in the darkest hours and in the worst weather. They travel over sea and land when lives hang in the balance. They do all of that while working some of the most demanding 24-hour duty systems anywhere in the public service.

I represent a coastal constituency that has been shaped by generations who have lived and worked close to the sea. I know how essential this service is. In Waterford and across the south east, when we see the helicopters overhead and hear them at night, we understand exactly what they mean. We know that someone somewhere, often at sea and often in bad conditions, is in trouble. We know that these crews are on their way to a medical evacuation from a fishing boat or a ship offshore, to a road traffic incident on the N25, to a coastal cliff rescue or to a medical transfer. The Government is presiding over a system that pretends that 24 hours of continuous readiness amounts to just 16.5 hours of work. It is not a technical adjustment, an accounting error or a matter of differing interpretations. It is a downgrading of the lived reality of the job. It is a direct threat to crew safety through increased fatigue and further stretching of already heavy rosters.

This Government is knowingly endangering our search and rescue crews and, by extension, that means they are endangering every coastal community they protect and serve. These crews work 24-hour shifts in constant readiness, living on a base and prepared to launch in minutes, yet the State pretends that one quarter of that time does not count. As a representative of a proud coastal region shaped by generations who have worked the seas, I know what this service means. The message from these crews and from our coastal communities is clear: the current system is unsafe, unsustainable and unlawful.

The State must act, not when another tragedy forces its hand, but now. European working time rules are clear. When workers are required to remain in immediate readiness, bound to strict response times and unable to use their time freely, that time is working time. Courts across Europe have reinforced this again and again. What the IAA is doing goes against best practice and against the law. Tá sábháilteacht ár bhfoirne tarrthála á chur i mbaol ag an Rialtas seo go mídhleathach agus go mímhórálta. Tá na foirne seo ar dualgas ar feadh 20 uair an chloig, réidh le dul san aer i gceann nóiméid. Ní fhéadfadh siad a láthair a fhágáil agus ní féidir "am scíthe" a ghlaoch ar an am seo. Mar Theachta ó cheantar cósta le ceangal láidir le saol na mara, tuigim go deimhin an tábhacht a bhaineann leis an tseirbhís seo. Sheasamar i bPort Láirge chun ár mbonn tarrthála a chosaint toisc gur ceist beatha agus báis atá inti. Ní oireann na foirne seo ach meas, sábháilteacht agus comhlíonadh an dlí. In Waterford, we know what happens when the Government takes its eye off the ball. When a previous Minister for Transport tried to cut the search and rescue base from the tender document for the new contract, the people of the south east - fishermen, coastal workers, volunteers and families - mobilised because they knew exactly what was at stake. They forced that Minister into a reversal, and they saved the service. They did it because they understand what search and rescue is. They know it is not something you play around with, and not something you denigrate or diminish.

Another issue must now be confronted. Will newly recruited staff who are not part of the CHC transfer and are not protected by transfer of undertakings face different, potentially inferior, working conditions? Instead of the amendment to this motion that has been tabled tonight, if the Government takes responsibility and takes action to remediate the issue we are raising here, will the issue still remain for the new entrants to the service? Our motion seeks something really straightforward and overdue, which is to stop the unsafe factoring practice, to record hours honestly and fairly, to comply with Irish and EU law, and to ensure that the people who risk everything to protect the public are themselves protected and not undermined.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Hear, hear.

Joanna Byrne (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

We can all agree that search and rescue crews are among the bravest men and women on these shores. They are willing to put their lives on the line day in, day out to go beyond what would be deemed reasonable by the average person to save lives, sometimes in the worst weather imaginable. All they are asking for is to be treated fairly and to have their true working hours reflected in their pay and conditions. This is not the first time this matter has been brought to the attention of the Government or that of the IAA, which is under the aegis of the Minister of State's Department. That is why the Government's amendment to this motion is all the more insulting. It has had time to consider the facts and, again, it has chosen to ignore them and allow Bristow Ireland to create a whole new set of rules and data that are, frankly, nonsense.

In a recent response to one of my queries to the IAA on the search and rescue crews' pay and conditions, it said it was aware that the new operation does not allow crew members to be on standby from their home, which was allowed previously and which many crews utilised. Instead, they are provided with suitable accommodation at or very near the base airport. It has acknowledged that the crews are being kept away from their homes, and are not being paid for all of their time away from their homes, but neither the IAA nor the Government wants to do anything about it. Who in the Government thinks that this is reasonable? It has allowed Bristow Ireland to rewrite the rules to suit itself and not the crews. Search and rescue helicopter crews routinely work 24-hour continuous duty periods. Under new rules, these shifts are being recorded as only 16.5 hours through a factoring mechanism. I am saying that this Government has allowed Bristow Ireland to rewrite the rules to suit itself because no other on-duty emergency service crews factor their hours while on shift in Ireland. Would the Government try to introduce this factoring mechanism on other branches of the rescue services? It would not, because there are thousands of personnel in those services combined. I suggest that because the very skilled and very dedicated men and women in the search and rescue crews are small in number, the Government thinks it can bully them and hide behind the contract with Bristow Ireland to accept lesser terms and conditions. If the Minister of State needs further reminding of what he is in control of, I refer him to finding 30 on page 336 of the final report on the Rescue 116 crash, which clearly states that the Minister for Transport has the authority to rule on matters pertaining to the IAA. The Government's amendment to this motion is, therefore, absolutely nonsense.

I commend our search and rescue personnel on their input and on the information they provided ahead of this Private Members' motion. They provided details of EU law labour laws, data and statistics, all of which the Government, the IAA and Bristow Ireland have been ignoring. The Minister of State can bury his head in the sand all he likes, but this is not going away. I am proud that Sinn Féin is standing shoulder to shoulder with the people who provide this vital service, who risk their lives for hours every time they go out. Can the Minister of State hold his head up and say he is doing the same? I am not sure he can. He needs to accept this Private Members' motion as it is. It is time for action from him and from the Irish Aviation Authority to ensure safe and fair working conditions for our brave search and rescue personnel.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Hear, hear.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Hear, hear.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank and commend Deputies Cullinane and McGuinness for bringing forward this motion. I represent a coastal community. We deeply appreciate the work of the search and rescue services.

We do not like to see them coming but we are very glad there are there.

Years and years ago, when I was a shop steward, back when I used to work for a living, I went on a health and safety course. The tutor was Norman Croke and the first thing he said to us when he was teaching us about health and safety in the workplace was that health and safety were everybody's business. He told us never to imagine for a moment that they were someone else's responsibility. Health and safety are everybody's business. They are the responsibility of every person. This was true then, many years ago, and it is true today. This is why it is simply incomprehensible that the Minister would try to claim the health, safety and welfare of the men and women of the search and rescue service are somehow outside of his remit. It is fairly shameful and the Minister of State should withdraw the amendment and listen to the search and rescue personnel.

I engaged with the lads who work out of Dublin Airport as they were doing the transition over to Bristow Ireland. I visited them. I know they made their concerns known. I know they had concerns. They are used to working shifts. If you are a shift worker, you are already likely to have a lower life expectancy. Your sleep is disturbed and it interrupts your family life. Doing shift work has a massive impact. Imagine then to be told that for a significant chunk of that shift, when you are required to be alert and ready to go into some of the most dangerous situations imaginable, it is not considered work. Jesus, it is not rest - it is most definitely not rest. As Deputy Conor D. McGuinness pointed out, this has been through all of the sophisticated industrial relations mechanisms that the Government loves to refer to. It has been through all of them. When you are expected to be on call in this way, your time is not your own. You are definitely not resting. You are working and it should be recognised as such. They are on 24-hour shifts and they should have every hour and every minute of those shifts recognised and acknowledged.

I hope that in the script the Minister of State is going to read out he has a very detailed explanation as to why the European working time directive should not apply to this vital group of workers. I do not have a crystal ball but I am fairly certain he will pay tribute to them and tell us all how much he values them. Really, his actions will tell us how much he values them. Recognising every hour and every minute that they work would tell us that he values them but his fine words will not come to anything if he does not withdraw the amendment and accept that these men and women are working for the 24 hours of the shift.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I move:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that:

— the provision of an effective Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) service is critical to Ireland as an island nation with a strong maritime sector, and the sector depends on the reliability and professionalism of the Irish Coast Guard and all its component parts, including Coast Guard helicopter crews; and

— the aviation service contract allows the Coast Guard to meet its obligations as prescribed in the National Search and Rescue Plan, the National Maritime Oil/HNS Spill Contingency Plan and its capacity to support other State agencies, in particular inland SAR support to An Garda Síochána and provision of Air Ambulance services to the Health Service Executive, including day and night support to the island communities;

recognises that:

— the continued delivery of safe, efficient, and effective aviation services for the Irish Coast Guard is the overarching priority for the Government;

— the safety of SAR crews, in particular, is of paramount concern; and

— the introduction of new Fatigue Risk Management Systems, and enhanced crew rest facilities, under the new contract, provide a step-change in ensuring continued SAR crew safety and wellbeing; and

accepts that:

— by law, matters pertaining to working hours, flight time limitations, and shift patterns of SAR crew are entirely a matter for the Irish Aviation Authority, as per their regulatory remit; and

— as such, these specific matters are de facto outside the remit of the Minister for Transport.".

I advise the House that the Minister of Transport does not have any regulatory oversight of the contracted service providers of the Irish Coast Guard aviation service. The competent regulatory authority for this service for the purposes of enforcement and oversight of the relevant national, EU and European Aviation Safety Agency regulations is the IAA. As the motion relates to a regulatory matter falling within the statutory powers of the IAA, the issue is not a policy matter for the Government and the Minister for Transport has no function in determining the rules regarding working hours, flight time limitations and shift patterns of search and rescue crew members. In these circumstances the Minister for Transport has tabled the amendment to the motion.

While the Minister for Transport does not have a role in the regulatory oversight of the service, be assured that the safety of our SAR aviation crews is his overarching priority. The majority of personnel who were employed by the outgoing contractor are exercising their option to take up similar positions with the new operator of the service. The amendment is tabled noting that the Irish Coast Guard aviation service is regulated by the IAA, and that it will only approve the operation of the Coast Guard aviation service once the operator has demonstrated that the service is compliant with all national and international regulations and is operated safely.

There are currently two contracted service providers of the Irish Coast Guard search and rescue aviation service in the State. The service is transitioning from CHCI to the new service provider, Bristow Ireland Limited, and this transition will be completed by the first quarter of 2026. Both service operators have the necessary IAA approvals to operate search and rescue services on behalf of the Irish Coast Guard. Notably, these include approvals regarding compliance with the Organisation of Working Time Act, in particular the requirements for flight time limitation schemes and rest requirements for crew members, including helicopters. In Ireland these are detailed in a direction published in the IAA's Aeronautical Notice O.58, which gives effect to Council Directive 2000/79/EC concerning the European Agreement on the Organisation of Working Time of Mobile Workers in Civil Aviation and the European Communities (Organisation of Working Time) (Mobile Staff in Civil Aviation) Regulations 2006. The directive makes provision for the maximum annual working time of 2,000 hours, to be calculated on the basis of an aggregate of both duty time and standby time, whereby only some elements of standby for duty assignment would be calculable towards the annual working time.

In Ireland, the IAA is the competent authority for the enforcement and oversight of the national regulations made to transpose the directive. In this instance, Aeronautical Notice O.58 provides that in the case of search and rescue, where certain safety requirements are met, only 25% of standby time shall count for the purpose of calculating cumulative duty. Consequently, where an operator defines a duty roster with a standby period, normally during night-time hours, and certain conditions are met in respect of rest facilities, including the opportunity to achieve a period of eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, then only 25% of the standby period is counted for the purpose of cumulative duty towards the maximum limit of 2,000 hours annual working time.

The new contract provides for the provision of suitable rest and sleeping accommodation and a requirement that on duty flight crews remain on base for their full tour of duty as a means of enhancing overall flight crew safety. Aeronautical Notice O.58 is being updated by the IAA, and the Department is being consulted, as required by the Irish Aviation Authority Act 1993 in cases where regulations affect the Irish Coast Guard. The updated aeronautical notice will also reflect the application of the IAA-approved fatigue risk management system, FRMS, regulation, which is in accordance with international best practice for aviation safety as prescribed by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

FRMS, a relatively new concept, is one of a number of systems used in the aviation industry to manage fatigue and rest time among flight crews. It is a data-driven scientific approach and a key feature of the transition to date has been the engagement by the new service provider, Bristow Ireland Limited, with the employee representative organisations Fórsa, Unite and IALPA. This engagement resulted in Bristow Ireland subsequently concluding collective bargaining agreements with the three organisations. Bristow Ireland continues to actively engage with CHCI staff who wish to take up a position with Bristow in advance of their move to their new positions and contracts.

The new aviation service contract provides an enhanced specification which includes six latest generation search and rescue AW189 helicopters, five of which are newly built and have been accepted into service by Bristow. The sixth helicopter is scheduled to arrive in Ireland shortly. All the helicopters will utilise the latest technology, which includes modern night vision flying equipment. In addition, for the first time, the new contract includes a fixed wing element which is being delivered by Bristow subcontractor, 2Excel Ireland, using two King Air aircraft. The fixed wing element of the service enhances the Coast Guard’s maritime and inland search and rescue capabilities, most notably through the provision of top cover communications for long helicopter missions, a life-raft drop capability, maritime environmental protection measures, including investigation of pollution and ship casualty reports, and capacity to transport up to three ambulatory patients for emergency and international transfers.

During the transition period, the Irish Coast Guard's aviation service continues to provide the highest standard of service to mariners, maritime and offshore communities and wider State support, particularly to the health service. The transition to the new aviation contract with newer, more technologically advanced helicopters is delivering a service better capable to respond and operate in a wider range of areas. The Coast Guard’s new fixed wing aircraft service has enhanced the search and rescue and pollution monitoring capabilities. It is also available to support other State agencies where necessary.

Over the past 12 months, the Coast Guard helicopters were deployed 929 times, saving 461 lives and assisting another 376. Of the total number of incidents, about half were assistance to the health service and over 120 involved evacuations of injured or sick persons from offshore islands. Finally, 27 incidents involved mountain rescues, 21 incidents involved medical evacuation of personnel from vessels at sea and the rest involved missions in assisting An Garda Síochána in missing person searches.

In conclusion, Coast Guard SAR aviation services are regulated by the Irish Aviation Authority. The Minister for Transport does not have any role in the regulatory oversight of this essential State service or the contracted service providers.

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

This evening, I want to recognise the hard work of the volunteers in Meath and right across the country. Among them are Meath River Rescue volunteers who have shown unwavering dedication day in, day out and are always on call.

Meath River Rescue was established in 1996 by a group of local swimmers and divers who saw a need to protect and serve our waterway communities. The founders consisted of six members and the group has grown over time to its present membership of 25. In 2013, its headquarters was built in Navan, funded in conjunction with Meath Partnership. This facility stands as a sign of hope and readiness and is a home base for training, co-ordination and swift response. All Meath River Rescue members are volunteers. These volunteers give up days and weeks of their time and employment while carrying out searches, often in difficult or unpredictable conditions.

Meath Civil Defence is a volunteer-based organisation that supports front-line emergency services and assists our local communities. It is a nationwide network with over 2,000 volunteers. They work alongside front-line responders in dealing with severe weather, flooding, major accidents, firefighting and the search for missing people.

As well as these two organisations, I thank the front-line services and all the men and women in them working to ensure the safety of others. I have witnessed with deep gratitude the brilliant work of Meath Civil Defence and volunteers from neighbouring counties during the Moylagh JFK 50 Mile Challenge. They spent close to 24 hours straight assisting walkers and runners, ensuring the safety of participants in the challenge. Meath Civil Defence and Meath River Rescue, along with Boyne Fishermen's Rescue and Recovery, local kayak clubs and many volunteers, have been out in my own constituency for weeks. They have been taking part and leading searches for a number of missing people. They cannot receive enough credit for their tireless efforts, always on call and never complaining. All they could do with is more help and sustained supports to ensure they can be assisted with these searches. Their courage needs support, resources, funding and ongoing training to keep them equipped for whatever challenges arise. Meath River Rescue needs new equipment but there has to be funding in place for these sorts of organisations that assist in search and rescue. Its jet boat is ten years old.

It is fair and essential to acknowledge the important parallel with organisations such as the Irish Coast Guard search and rescue, and the indispensable work of Meath River Rescue, Meath Civil Defence and the Boyne Fishermen's Rescue and Recovery. It is crucial the Government ensure adequate supports are always available for these workers and volunteers, as well as consistent funding, access to equipment, regular training opportunities and reliable backup co-ordination. To every volunteer who has given up time, energy and sometimes employment opportunities to help others, we say, "Thank you." Your courage shines and is an inspiration to us all.

I ask the Minister of State to support these organisations in Ireland that take part in search and rescue operations. These organisations are made up of volunteers who often do not get the credit or support they deserve from the State.

Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I will start by thanking our Coast Guard and rescue teams across this island. In my own constituency of Dublin Bay North, I know the huge amount of work they do, the really dangerous conditions they sometimes have to go out in and the number of times they have prevented disasters on our coasts and in our seas.

Being honest, I could not believe what I was reading in terms of this new roster system. We have crews working 24-hour shifts but those shifts are only being recorded as 16 and a half hours. That means the Irish Coast Guard crews may be looking at 104 24-hour shifts instead of their current 83 per year. That is an enormous increase and change in the working conditions for these staff. I cannot see how this is permitted under the working time Act. I agree with the Irish Airline Pilots Association, which says the IAA needs to step in here. There are huge safety implications in all this. These changes not only put our rescue workers in danger due to increased risks of tiredness and fatigue, but that has a knock-on impact on people who might find themselves in need of the emergency services. Nobody wants to think the crews being sent out, often in very dangerous weather conditions, are tired and fatigued.

Our rescue workers' job is to keep people safe. It is the Minister of State's job and the job of the IAA to keep our rescue teams safe. We need action here. We need a review of whether this roster complies with the working time rules. Honestly, I cannot see how it does. The actual numbers of hours worked needs to be the actual number of hours recorded.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Hear, hear.

Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The IAA and the Department of Transport need to make sure the safety of our rescue crews is a top priority.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

It is hard to believe we are here dealing with this issue.

Sometimes, when a issue comes to a politician it shows the abject failure across the board. In many instances we are talking about individual cases where the State has failed. We are talking about the Coast Guard search and rescue. Ask anybody on the street what that means and they will say it is people who go above and beyond, who are risking everything. We know what happened with the serious loss of Rescue 116. We lost Dara Fitzpatrick, Mark Duffy, Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith. That is the reality of the danger that these crews face every day of the week.

I thank Deputies McGuinness and Cullinane in particular for bringing forward this motion. I will follow up on what Deputy Cullinane said. There is a necessity that we have the Minister in front of the transport committee in relation to this to provide answers, not some sort of cop-out that he has no role in regulatory oversight. The buck stops with him, simple as that. The Irish Aviation Authority also needs to be in front of the committee, as does Bristow Ireland which has come up with these wondrous shift changes.

What are we talking about? On the recording of 24-hour shifts, that is 24-hour continuous duty periods. As many have said before, this is not in a person's house. This is people being accommodated because they are at work. They need to be ready to launch at any time. We know the danger we are talking about in relation to what we require these people to do. There is not doubt that there is an issue in relation to the European working time directive and the fact that these people are being absolutely hammered in relation to basic workers' rights that have been won across the board. As Deputy O'Reilly said, we have an industrial relations framework that the Government constantly argues is there to facilitate this. I have no doubt that Deputy Joanna Byrne is correct that the Government facilitated this and allowed it to happen because it is a very small cohort of workers, but one that does spectacular work that we and the State need them to do. Government loves having things at a remove, be it the local authority that can be blamed, be it the HSE, be it the Irish Aviation Authority or be it Bristow Ireland. However, the fact is that the Government is responsible. It is responsible for contracts and it is responsible to the people for ensuring we look after the safety of those who need to be rescued in terrible circumstances that we all wish could be avoided and those who put their lives at risk daily. We would expect that when they do that for us and the State, we could at least have their backs. I request that there be an element of accountability. I imagine we are far too late in this case and the decision has been made. However, I ask that the disgraceful amendment the Government has put forward be removed and that we have a real conversation about an issue these search and rescue crews are very worried about. It is a disgrace. We need to see action straight away. I think it is the first time I have said this in the House but I do not have words.

I will finish by thanking those in the Boyne Fishermen's Rescue and Recovery Service and Dundalk Sub Aqua Search and Rescue, whose members step in at times for necessary rescue operations and necessary work that needs to be done when somebody is missing, sometimes because the State is not there to do it. We have a wonderful service in the Coast Guard search and rescue that is necessary and we are not looking after them. It is an abject failure of the Minister and Government. We need to see some real action and real accountability. This is a demand we will not be walking away from.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Hear, hear.

Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank Sinn Féin and Deputies Cullinane and McGuinness for their work on this motion. I pay tribute to the search and rescue crews in our Coast Guard around the country. They do genuinely heroic work and we all owe them a debt of gratitude. It is extremely disappointing that this motion is even necessary and that the Government has put down an amendment to wash its hands of the issue, because it reflects the lack of respect that these vital workers have been shown in recent months.

I have been dealing with the issue on behalf of a constituent who is a winch crewman paramedic on a rescue helicopter. I wrote to the Minister of State on the matter in August but my office does not appear to have received a response. I did, however, receive a response from the IAA to queries I made. There were a few notable matters in its response. The authority acknowledges that CHC allowed for crew members to be on standby from their own home, whereas Bristow Ireland, the new operator, does not. Why the change and why has the IAA allowed it? Was CHC in the wrong? If it was in the wrong in allowing crew members to be on standby from home and that somehow undermined their work or response time, why did the IAA allow that practice to carry on for the duration of CHC’s contract?

The IAA said in its response that the aeronautical notice, which sets out the flight-time limitations and rest requirements, has not really changed since 2017 and that both operators would be under the same requirements. This appears to be very much a choice being made by the new operator and endorsed by the IAA. I would argue that this very much worsens working conditions for our crucial Coast Guard and search and rescue crew members.

There is also the factoring issue, which I think is the main gripe that the search and rescue workers have with the new arrangement, and rightly so. It is a very simple question. If workers are required to be available on-site or in a nearby hotel, alert and fully deployable for 24 hours straight, then why, on paper, are we pretending they are only working for 16.5 hours? This factoring arrangement, used to reduce recorded duty time, might be common in certain standby contexts, but that is the nub of the issue. Speaking as a former employment lawyer, as far as I am concerned, these crews are not in a standby context. They are not sleeping at home with a pager or whatever. They are not on a rota where half their time is guaranteed rest. They are, for their duty period, under this new contract, on base, ready to take off at a few minutes’ notice, day or night, in conditions that are often unpredictable, demanding or dangerous.

I note as well that in response to parliamentary questions from me and others, the Minister recognises that the new contract obliged crew members who are on duty to remain at the base for the duration of that 24-hour period. Being on duty and being on standby are very different things, but this factoring arrangement treats a part of that duty as being on standby. Factoring down crew members hours is not a technical quirk. In effect, it is an erasure of labour, and no worker’s labour should be reclassified in any way that diminishes his or her rights or, particularly in this case, his or her safety.

Statutory Instrument 507/2006, which gives effect to the European Council Directive 2000/79, states:

“working time’ means any period during which a crew member is working, at the employer's disposal and carrying out the activity or duties of his or her work, including on-call duty performed by a crew member where he or she is required to be physically present at his or her place of work.

Basically, it is saying that working time is working time. It does not mean some of the working time. It does not mean the hours that are convenient are to count. It means the actual hours a worker is required to be available for work in a manner that restricts his or her rest and obliges him or her to be ready to perform his or her duties. In this case, that is 24 full hours. Importantly, the regulation upholds the principle that it operates without prejudice to more favourable standards established under other laws or agreements, and it explicitly prohibits the dilution of these protections through less favourable or alternative arrangements. I fail to see how requiring workers to remain on-site for the duration of their so-called standby period and, in effect, reducing their pay for that pleasure amounts to a more favourable standard. That is what this factoring arrangement is all about. It is about circumventing the annual limit of 2,000 working hours. The fewer hours counted as work, the more work the operator can make a crew do before reaching that threshold. Essentially, therefore, fewer crew members are hired and those who are hired are being paid less per hour.

We can also look to recent rulings in the European Court of Justice, which provide clear guidance on the interpretation of working time in the context of standby duties. Cases brought by the union of doctors in public health services in Valencia and by a Mr. Jaeger against the city of Kiel established that on-site standby time, including time spent sleeping, must be fully regarded as working time when physical presence at the workplace is required. That is pretty clear. One brought by a Mr. Matzak, a retained firefighter in Belgium, determined that a firefighter’s standby time at home counted as working time due to significant restrictions, including the requirement to respond within eight minutes. D.J. v. Radiotelevizija Slovenija clarified that standby time may constitute working time even when the worker is not required to stay in a specific location, if the obligations imposed significantly limit the worker’s ability to use that time freely.

In essence, I have serious questions and concerns about whether this factoring arrangement is in compliance with both national and EU regulations and case law. It appears to me that it is not.

The practical effect of the arrangement is that a 24-hour duty with no night call-out is calculated as 17 hours of work. However, these crews are under significant operational constraints and are clearly at the disposal of their employer throughout the entire duty period, including the overnight hours. According to our own regulations, this time should be fully recognised as working time, not to mention the ECJ rulings that I have just outlined.

The motion also touches on the issue of fatigue, rest requirements and the safety of crew members on search and rescue teams. Aviation safety, maritime safety and emergency-response safety are often framed in terms of equipment standards, training requirements, regulatory oversight and so on. All of these matter. However, the absolute foundation when we are talking about search and rescue teams is the well-being of the crew members; how well rested and supported they are, how much we value their time and how much we take their fatigue seriously. Search and rescue crews work in extremely demanding conditions both physically and mentally. They wake from an interrupted sleep to launch into high-risk operations, often where life-or-death decisions are made by them. They work in darkness, storms and emergencies, in moments where one wrong judgment can have devastating consequences.

To suggest that the time spent over a 24-hour shift at a base or a nearby hotel or wherever does not count as work or contribute towards a crew member’s fatigue is a nonsense. Search and rescue crews do not arrive at a base expecting a quiet night. Emergencies do not arrive on schedule. The crews prepare themselves mentally for the possibility that at any moment they could be called to respond. Indeed, they could be asleep at 2 a.m. and in the air 20 minutes later. They might complete one operation, return to the base and be back out again in a matter of minutes. Under those circumstances, it is simply not credible to suggest that a portion of their time spent at the base constitutes proper rest. They have to be ready to go at a moment’s notice, and that is mentally taxing if nothing else. It is only rest if they can actually fully disengage from their work, which they clearly cannot.

Ultimately, when we undercount hours worked, we underestimate fatigue. When fatigue is underestimated, safety systems begin to erode. We cannot allow that to happen in any aviation operation and it is particularly unacceptable in search and rescue where the stakes could not be higher. If we undermine safety, we fail not only the crews but every person who may one day rely on them. This is not an abstract concern. International research in aviation and emergency response operations has repeatedly shown that fatigue is one of the most significant underlying contributors to operational risk. Regulators the world over have spent decades designing frameworks to measure, manage and mitigate fatigue. Those frameworks begin with accurate recording of working time. If we start from inaccurate data - if the system records 16.5 hours where the reality is 24 hours - then every subsequent fatigue-management measure is compromised.

I would like to briefly touch on the wider context of worker’s rights in Ireland. I understand that some winch operators, along with their union, Fórsa, may be taking a case to the Workplace Relations Commission on this issue. If that is the case, I place my support for them on record.

There are too many workers in our economy who do not have the safeguard of a union to fight their corner because employers in Ireland are not obliged to recognise or engage with them. That should have changed a long time ago but it definitely should have changed this time last year, at the deadline to transpose the EU’s directive on adequate minimum wages, which explicitly states that the best way to improve wages and working conditions is through collective bargaining. We, of course, have still not transposed that directive.

It is also three years since the Government’s own Labour Employer Economic Forum published its report on collective bargaining, but we still have not seen an implementation plan for its recommendations. The fact that the Department of enterprise just this summer put out a public consultation on how to best promote collective bargaining is, quite frankly, laughable. We know the answer. It is by recognising trade unions and ensuring that employers engage with them.

I unfortunately have little faith that this Government will do that. It has shown time and again whose side it is on. This Government has enabled VAT cuts for big businesses while postponing the introduction of a living wage and has delayed the increase in statutory sick days. We have even seen a disregard for workers who are unionised, our school secretaries and caretakers, after the Department of public expenditure pulled out of talks on pension parity.

Workers across our economy and our public services are facing issues similar to those faced by our search and rescue crews, including long hours, insufficient rest and blurred boundaries between duty and downtime. Whether in healthcare, transport, emergency services, hospitality, you name it, workers continue to feel the stress of under-resourced systems and an undervaluing of their labour. The situation that has arisen with our search and rescue crews and their treatment under this new arrangement is a particularly stark example but it highlights a broader truth: that the fight for decent pay and working conditions is ongoing.

Workers’ rights must evolve in line with the realities of modern work. Technology, industries and expectations change but the need for dignity at work, good working conditions and fair pay does not. We are all, I am sure, enormously proud and grateful for our incredible search and rescue crews and the work they do but that is not reflected in this current arrangement and factoring model. Leaving aside the fact that it breaches both national and EU regulations, as well as binding ECJ case law, it plainly undervalues the work that these crews do. The model needs to be scrapped and I hope the Minister will ensure it is.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I welcome Sinn Féin’s focus on the men and women who fly our Coast Guard helicopters. Crews are on call for 24 hours straight, and deserve every ounce of political backing we can give. I certainly know that myself because the Irish Coast Guard in Schull and Goleen where I live myself are people who are second to none. They gave their time freely and need the protections we will support here.

For Independent Ireland, front-line workers come first, whether they wear the uniform of An Garda Síochána, a Coast Guard jacket or a flight suit. If a front-line worker is on a 24-hour shift, every hour must be recognised and respected. It offends common sense to pretend that a crew that must launch in minutes is somehow at rest for a part of their shift. That is not rest, that is responsibility. It must count as working time for safety and fairness.

This dispute is not with the crews; it is with the system that makes figures look better on paper than they are in the cockpit. Our coastal and island communities rely on a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week SAR service. When a call comes in from Cork or Limerick, nobody asks what the spreadsheet says. It asks how fast Rescue 115 can be overhead. Our manifesto is clear; fund SAR properly. Respect crews' working time and demand accountability. We support an urgent review of how hours are recorded and we want to know why the IAA signed off on this system. Accountability matters.

Finally, our ask of the Government is simple. It must end the factoring of 24-hour shifts, record every hour crews are on call and put in place a transparent system with crews at the table, in order that fatigue is never traded off against cost or convenience. When a call comes in from Bantry Bay or off the Cork coast, nobody asks what the spreadsheet is. Many of the calls I get are in relation to protecting people in the fishing industry. They come from pleasure boats as well but they come from the fishing industry in particular as people are out there in shocking weather and depend on the Coast Guard for their safety. SAR is not just a helicopter in west Cork. The Bantry Inshore Search and Rescue Association has also been saving lives since 1987. It is a clear resource of the Irish Coast Guard yet it receives no regular State funding. Its annual operating costs are about €26,000, raised through donations collected in buckets in local shops and pubs and through charity swims and crowdfunding. Every euro it spends comes from the community it serves. The association now faces a major challenge. It needs €1 million for Ireland’s first floating boathouse and a new high-tech rescue boat. Why? Faster response times and better equipment save lives. This is not a luxury; it is a necessity for safety in Bantry Bay and beyond.

Independent Ireland believes in value for money but value for money does not mean cutting corners or fatigue. We insist on proper funding for training and equipment in SAR, whether that is helicopters, volunteers or lifeboats. We demand accountability from the Irish Aviation Authority and the Department of Transport for systems that trade safety for convenience. Our ask of the Government is that in the factoring of 24-hour shifts for helicopter crews, a transparent system should be put in place with crews at the table to guarantee fatigue is never ignored and it should commit to supporting resources in order that volunteers are not left fundraising for basic safety infrastructure. Our coastal communities and crews deserve better. Our rescue services deserve the funding and oversight that keep people alive.

As I have the floor, I raised more than a year ago - and have not heard anything since- the disaster that happened off Bantry Bay in 1979. Many emergency services were called out during the Whiddy Island disaster. I have been calling and Michael Kingston has been calling for a full inquiry into that for 12 months. A full statutory inquiry has to take place in relation to the Whiddy Island disaster off Bantry Bay that killed 50 people.

Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent Ireland Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

What cost would the Minister of State put on life? That is the question. If it was in different circumstances and the Minister of State needed something, what cost would he put on his own life?

When it comes to our search and rescue personnel, all I can say is "Thank you." They are absolutely unbelievable in what they do. If they work for 24 hours, that must be recognised. The Government is brilliant at putting in place regulations for different people. If people are driving trucks, the Government will tell them how many hours and minutes they can work, and that is regulated. For a service as important as search and rescue, what does the Government put in? It is okay for one group but not the other. The Minister of State could ask those working in his Department. If they were to work for 24 hours, would they recognise every hour then? These people are the same. There is blood running through their veins. I ask the Minister of State to ask those in his Department if they would recognise the 24 hours then.

As I have the floor and we are coming up to Christmas, I will mention the Irish Red Cross. Anyone in Limerick is welcome to the Northern Trust on 14 December for Light Up Limerick. The latter is a fundraising event for the Irish Red Cross to allow it to provide a service. It is fundraising that relies on the goodwill of people so the organisation can help others through search and rescue services, including Abbeyfeale search and rescue, through the Red Cross in Doon and Kilmallock and in all the other areas where people come out to help others. Those organisations have to go out and fundraise to ensure they can provide a quality service to protect and help people.

We are considering our search and rescue services at a time when people in the fishing industry or others might be stranded somewhere and when there is flooding and there may be snow. We see what those search and rescue personnel do at a time of need. Every minute counts.

People often say that different lives matter. The lives of Red Cross members matter too. They must have lives themselves. There must be a balance. Every life matters. Every life we can help to fund to ensure we can protect more people matters.

When the Minister of State is looking in his ball and trying to see everything, I ask him to look from the other side of it. If he was in that position, would he like it if he were treated in that way? I ask him to look in the mirror and ask if that were him, and he was out doing search and rescue, would he like to be treated that way. That is what it is about. We can take this around the houses again in different ways. I thank every organisation for what they do in going out to fundraise to help people. I thank them for every bit of service they have delivered. Will the Government make sure that the Red Cross and the search and rescue services are protected?

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I welcome the opportunity to speak. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward the motion. This is a really important topic. The Coast Guard has been shouting into the wind for far too long. It is only right that we have the opportunity today to put this issue front and centre.

I am sincerely grateful to all the coastal communities across Mayo. I thank all the voluntary groups, including the Coast Guard, the CHC crews, the RNLI, the Civil Defence, Mountain Rescue, the many community first responders and so many other voluntary groups right across Mayo. They answer the call on the darkest of nights when everyone else is told to stay at home and batten down the hatches. The Coast Guard and many other voluntary groups set about their journeys and start into search and rescue missions. It is only right that we give them the respect they deserve.

Let us be extremely straight with people. If you are on a 24-hour search and rescue shift, it is a 24-hour shift. You are at your base, alert and deployable. That is the reality. These people are so courageous in going out in the worst of conditions. They are at their base, alert, ready to go and deployable within seconds. That is the expectation and it is important for the Minister of State to recognise that. Unfortunately, that it is not recognised and we are understanding those 24 hours as 16.5 hours. That is not a technicality. It is disrespectful and dangerous. It is hard to believe that a contract worth €800 million, which has been decades in planning, has produced such a failure. It is a failure in the most basic arithmetic and planning.

In Mayo, we sadly remember Rescue 116. After all of the promises that lessons would be learned and so on, and the recognition of the great work that went on, it is hard to believe, so many years later, that lessons have not been learned. We have not addressed the issues.

The word salad of assurances is utter nonsense. I listened to the contribution from the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon. He outlined that the Minister for Transport has no responsibility for this issue or for these contracts. He stated that the matter is outside the remit of the Minister and is instead the responsibility of a particular agency, namely the Irish Aviation Authority. To whom does the Irish Aviation Authority report? Who has responsibility for the agency? It is a semi-State agency that has a regulatory aspect for which the Minister is responsible. It is incredible that we have a situation, time and again, whereby Ministers stand up and say in the Dáil that something is not their responsibility when it clearly is.

It is important that the spin ends, that we reward the courageous work that is happening and that we provide fairness by recognising those who work 24-hour shifts.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I am glad of the opportunity to contribute. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this good and sensible motion.

I congratulate the Minister of State opposite on making his comeback to the ranks of junior Ministers. On the morning on which we were wondering who the new junior Minister would be, I asked him if he was in line and what was happening. I wish him the best.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Deputy is a prophet.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

As I said, this is an important issue, particularly in a place such as Kerry that has mountains, including MacGillycuddy's Reeks and Mangerton mountain. We have a topography that no other county has, or, at least, that not many other counties have. We have the Atlantic Ocean pounding on three or four sides. We have three peninsulas, namely the Iveragh, Beara and Dingle peninsulas. We have many miles of coastline. It is grand and lovely in the summertime. We appreciate the Coast Guard all around our coasts. We have beautiful beaches where people go swimming, boating and all the other things they do as they avail of the many attractions we have in Kerry. However, people, including great swimmers and boatmen, often get into trouble. Different things happen. People come from all over the world to climb MacGillycuddy's Reeks.

If something happens we depend on the Kerry mountain search and rescue team in a big way and I do not believe they are not fully compensated for the skills and efforts they put into saving people's lives. As has been said, a price cannot be put on anyone's life. It hurts me, and I am sure the Minister of State cannot be happy with it either, when I hear that these people in air ambulances are only being paid for 16 hours when they are there for 24 hours. I certainly did not know that and I am glad it has been aired here because that is not fair. When people are waiting for the call and have to be ready to go in a minute at any moment, they should remunerated. I do not know how much the Minister of State knows about them, but he will bring the message to the Government. I do not mind which Department it is, the Minsters must put their heads together and work together to ensure these people are paid properly. They have massive skills, they put in a mighty campaign to save one or more lives and we depend on them so much in place like Kerry.

I thank all our harbourmasters in our piers and harbours all around Kerry. We have many. I have known many of the skippers of the Valentia lifeboat over the years. Paddy Gallagher was from Achill Island but he finished up on Valentia Island and was the skipper of that lifeboat. We remember the Seaflower disaster when many fine men were lost off the Beara Peninsula on the Kenmare River. It was a terrible time. I remember the Sunday morning after it happened, at mass in Kilgarvan, and everyone was huddled together because so many knew those people. A good few of them lost their lives and the Valentia lifeboat was involved then. That was when I was only a child and it has been working since under different skippers and doing so much great work. We depend on all those people.

We have to keep saying that a cost cannot be put on a life. Some innocent person might come to the MacGillycuddy's Reeks and the fog comes in or whatever and they get lost and get stuck up on benches in places sheep could not get out of. Luckily, many of them have been saved by the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team. It hurts me also to hear they have to fundraise to keep themselves together, keep their gear together, keep themselves trained, keep active and be there when they are called.

We remember the effort all the people put in in the Kenmare area when Michael Gaine was missing - we know now, sadly, that he is dead - and we appreciate all the people, including the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team. Offers came from the Abbeyfeale District Search and Rescue team and time did not matter to the people. They kept searching everywhere, down Moll's Gap and into bogholes and different places, and we appreciate all the people, even those who put in a voluntary effort. We must congratulate and thank those people too for the great help they have given at different times, aside from the Michael Gaine case. We thank them for what they did at that time. It was only the start of the year. Everyone is saying the year has flown, and it has, but we have no answers about that poor man yet and we are all hurting for that.

Again, I ask the Minister of State not to let the air ambulances down, to take the message to the Government and ensure what is being asked for here is given, and to say it was a mistake that it has been happening until now, because it has been a mistake. We have massive terrain in Kerry. We have grand scenic places and when people come and get into trouble, we depend so much on the rescue teams and the air ambulances. When people get sick or when they need to be got out of an awkward place, we depend on the air ambulance to come at short notice to take them, perhaps for heart surgery, to Dublin, Cork, Limerick or wherever it is. One thing I learned as well is that the air ambulances have to go where the wind will not challenge them as much. There was an accident in Killarney a few years ago. I was there when it happened and we thought the air ambulance would go to Cork, but it finished up that it had to go to Limerick to avail of the help of the wind from that side. We have to ensure that we have people with expertise who know what they are doing. You can train people all you like but they must do a certain amount of probing and ensuring they are doing the right thing themselves when they are out on a mission.

It is late at night. I thank Sinn Féin again for bringing forward this motion. I hope the Government is listening and will look after them. I appeal that the Kerry mountain rescue team is also properly looked after. We depend on them in Kerry to save many lives.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

To reiterate, the Minister for Transport has no regulatory oversight of the contracted services provided by the Irish Coast Guard aviation service. The Irish Aviation Authority, IAA, is the competent regulatory authority and it is tasked, for the purpose of this lifesaving aviation service, with ensuring oversight, compliance and enforcement of all relevant national, EU and European Union Aviation Safety Agency regulations.

As previously stated, currently, two contracted service providers provide the Irish Coast Guard search and rescue aviation service in the State. The service is currently transitioning from CHCI to the new service provider, Bristow Ireland Limited, BIL. The transition will be completed in the first quarter of 2026. Both service operators have the necessary IAA approvals to operate search and rescue services on behalf of the Irish Coast Guard. These include approvals and compliance with the Organisation of Working Time Act. The Department of Transport is prioritising the safe and effective transition of the aviation contract without interruption of service and is ensuring the two contracted operators, CHCI and BIL, are providing the capacity, expertise and resources to maintain safe search and rescue operations on a 24-7 basis across all areas of the country throughout this process and continuing to provide a high standard of service to mariners, maritime and offshore communities and wider State support, particularly to the health service.

The transition to the new aviation contract with newer, more technologically advanced helicopters is delivering a better service that is able to respond and operate in a wider range of areas. The Coast Guard's new fixed-wing aircraft services has enhanced search and rescue and pollution monitoring capabilities and is available to support other State agencies where necessary. The Minister particularly recognises the critical importance of this service to our offshore island communities which rely on the Irish Coast Guard to provide day- and night-time aeromedical support. The new contract operated by Bristow Ireland Limited will increase the capacity and capability of the Coast Guard to provide a range of essential services of strategic importance to the State, including maritime and inland search and rescue, aeromedical support, maritime environmental monitoring and aviation support to other State entities. As stated, a key feature of the transition to date has been the engagement by the new service provider, Bristow Ireland Limited, with the employee representative organisations, Fórsa, Unite and the Irish Air Line Pilots' Association, IALPA. This engagement resulted in Bristow subsequently concluding collective bargaining agreements, CBAs, with three organisations. Bristow Ireland Limited continues to actively engage with CHCI staff who wish to take up a position with Bristow in advance of them moving to the new positions and contracts.

Crews continue to operate 24-hour shifts under flight time limitation rules and a fatigue risk management system as required by the IAA.

The Department of Transport has been invited to comment on a draft IAA aeronautical notice that will set flight time limitations and rest requirements and will better reflect the application of fatigue risk management systems for the Irish Coast Guard operations replacing the current aeronautical notice No. O.58 for generic helicopter operations. This draft regulation does not alter total flight time, duty periods or standby treatment, which remains aligned with council directive 2000/79/EC and SI No. 507/2006. Consultation on the draft aeronautical notice is ongoing. The application of the fatigue risk management system regulation, which is in accordance with the international best practice for aviation, will be reflected in the draft aeronautical notice and further underlines the increased focus on crew member safety.

The Coast Guard search and rescue aviation service has and will be significantly enhanced when this new contract has fully transitioned. Over the past 12 months, the Coast Guard aviation service was deployed 929 times, saving 461 lives and assisting another 376. Approximately half of the deployments were assistance to the health service. Over 120 involved evacuations of injured or sick persons from offshore islands. A total of 27 incidents involved mountain rescues, 21 incidents involved medical evacuations of personnel from vessels at sea and the rest involved missions, such as assisting An Garda Síochána with missing persons searches.

I reiterate the continued delivery of safe, efficient and affective aviation services for the Irish Coast Guard is the overarching priority for the Government and the safety of SAR crew is of paramount concern. On behalf of the Minister for Transport, the Minister does not have any role in the regulatory oversight of this essential State service or the contracted service providers as the Coast Guard services are regulated by the Irish Aviation Authority. However, I have listened. There have been some interesting and informed submissions here. I will bring them back to the Minister. In these circumstances, however, the Minister for Transport has proposed a counter motion as outlined earlier by my ministerial colleague.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I congratulate the Minister of State on his new role. When we talk about rescue services, I wish to remember Dara Fitzpatrick, Mark Duffy, Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith from Rescue 116 who lost their lives on duty in 2017. I also wish to remember Caitríona Lucas from 2016 and the many others who have lost their lives in their service to this country.

I thank my colleagues Deputies Cullinane and McGuinness for putting the motion forward. We should not even have to do this. It is disgraceful. It is an insult to the Coast Guard services and search and rescue crews. I commend all the volunteers who are involved in the Coast Guard. Coming from a county like Mayo, we see - day and night - what those volunteers put into their communities to keep their communities and people safe. We also have the offshore islands. I know someone tonight who is travelling from Ballycroy to Inishbiggle. Who knows what is going to happen. Who does one call in that instance?

The intended purpose of the Sinn Féin motion was simple. It was to defend the safety and working conditions of our Coast Guard search and rescue crews. These brave workers are vital to counties like my own of Mayo where our coastal communities depend on them every single day and night. Many of our people work at sea. They know that when danger strikes it is these crews who answer the call. I am very disappointed. I keep finding over and over again that there is a lack of accountability from the Government on so many different things saying that it is not its responsibility, it is somebody else, somebody it has contracted to do the job. This outsourcing of everything, outsourcing of accountability and responsibility is not acceptable. Our motion is clear. It is to end the under-recording of the 24-hour shifts. It is to ensure compliance with Irish and EU working time law. It is to protect our crews from dangerous levels of fatigue. The recording of a full 24-hour shift as only 16.5 hours through a factoring scheme is inappropriate, unsafe and inconsistent with law. It inflates the number of 24-hour shifts that a worker can be asked to perform by an extra 21 shifts per year. As a result, it exposes our crews and public to unnecessary risk. Have we learned anything at all? Instead of engaging with these real concerns, the Government's amendment tonight deletes every substantive part of our motion. That is not acceptable.

Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank Deputies Cullinane and McGuinness for bringing forward this motion. In 2024, the Coast Guard and rescue service responded to 2,554 incidents and 752 missions by helicopter. It provided critical assistance to 537 citizens and 134 air ambulance flights to offshore island communities, including some off the Wexford coast. I am sure this year's statistics when completed will tell a similar story. The Minister of State will agree that the search and rescue crews, first and foremost, must be protected by safe and fair working conditions. On examination, this does not seem to be the case. The under-recording of 24-hour shifts under new rules are being recorded as 16 and a half hours through what is known as a factoring mechanism. The aviation safety experts and unions have deemed the use of this method to measure working hours as not fully compliant with safety standards relating to EU law and the working time law and increases the risk of fatigue. Fatigue in these high intense and often chaotic, hazardous circumstances could cause crew members' concentrations to drop, affect their reaction time and distort decision-making capabilities. This is why we in Sinn Féin are calling for variable recording of actual working hours, adherence to Irish and EU law, including a fair rostering programme and rest standards, and introducing independent audits. The Minister must hold the IAA to account and recognise that the IAA's approval of systems that allows reduced log hours is creating a serious risk element of fatigue in our search and rescue crews and must be addressed. These men and woman endanger their own lives to save ours. Please support our search and rescue crews across the country by supporting this motion and by withdrawing the Government's amendment.

Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (Wicklow-Wexford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Courtown-Arklow Coast Guard unit does incredible work on the Wicklow-Wexford coast and put their lives at risk to protect others. The least they deserve is proper and safe working conditions in a modern workplace in the form of a new Coast Guard station. A total of 23 men and woman had been working out of a 10 ft by 20 ft room in Courtown using the same sink for making tea and coffee as they do to wash up after an incident. They had no toilets, which is unbelievable. Thankfully, they have now been allowed to use the local parochial house on a temporary basis. However, they urgently need a new base. There is a new Coast Guard building strategy. For several years now, the Department and the OPW have been talking about potential new sites for a Coast Guard station in the Courtown area. With this new building strategy, Coast Guard members and I would like to know if the work that is being carried to date on potential sites in Courtown is still valid or will new market trawls be carried out? How long will the process take? If there is nothing available on the market, will it progress? How long will the OPW wait to see if property comes on stream? The plan is to move to a modular style building for cost effectiveness, efficiency and value for money. Has the modular design been finalised? If not, what can we expect to see in a final design? There are all these questions. Planning permission for an upgrade to the Arklow station has been in for over one year now. People in the Arklow area are asking if it has gone out to tender. When are the works due to begin? Has a contractor been appointed?

Tonight, we have highlighted the dangerous working conditions that exist for those in our Coast Guard and rescue services. Twenty-four hour shifts are being under-recorded around Ireland's coastline, resulting in extreme fatigue and safety concerns, which is a reckless approach by the State to peoples' lives. It is unbelievable. The State is simply not valuing our Coast Guard, which does this lifesaving work in really bad working conditions.

My colleagues have been outlining the reasons why we are seeking fair and safe working conditions for our Coast Guard and rescue services staff and why we tabled motion in order to stand up and protect those who protect us. I ask the Government to support the motion in full and to ensure the safety of our Coast Guard and search and rescue staff around the island of Ireland.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Both Ministers of State who spoke gave good impressions of Pontius Pilate. Both washed their hands of any responsibility when it comes to the safety of crew and fatigue management. You cannot outsource this to the Irish Aviation Authority. Yes, it is the regulator but the Government has political responsibility and it is letting down all those valuable search and rescue crew who have been raising fundamental issues in relation to how their time is clocked and reported by the authority.

I want to close this debate by bringing us back to what the motion is really about. This is not some technical argument about rostering, and it is not a narrow industrial relations matter. The motion goes to the heart of whether the State is allowing a vital emergency service to operate in a way that is incompatible with the law, that is unfair to workers and that is dangerous in the context of public safety. Search and rescue crews do not work in an office environment; they are front-line emergency responders and they are work 24-hour shifts because the public needs a 24-hour service.

Let us put some facts on the record. A standard 24-hour search and rescue shift includes six crew. Two duty engineers are recorded for the full 24 hours, and rightly so, but the two pilots and the two technical crew are recorded for only 16.5 hours. The Government seems to think that is fair. That difference is not illogical - it is indefensible. These are not different shifts; these are the same 24-hour duty periods with the same restrictions, the same requirement to remain at base or in nearby accommodation and the same obligation to respond immediately. If the engineers are working for 24 hours, then logic would say that the pilots and technical crew are also working 24 hours. The legal position, from my perspective, is clear: EU and Irish working-time law define working time to include on-duty call where the worker is required to be physically present at the workplace and ready to respond, and not anything else.

That brings me to what appears to be the mechanism used to under-record these hours. We are told that standby factoring is applied to duty crews who are already rostered on shift. Stand-by factoring is meant for periods where someone is off duty but available. It is not meant for people who are fully on duty, in uniform, restricted to base and required to respond without delay. The IAA is the competent authority. The CEO of the IAA should be dragged before as many Oireachtas committees as possible - including the transport committee and the public accounts committee - and the chief operations officer should be brought in with him to account for how they can stand over this. That will happen, and I want the committees involved to do as I suggest.

The Minister of State has some responsibility here. The Minister for Transport did not even bother to come in to take the debate. That shows the interest he has in this issue. Search and rescue crews have been watching the debate. They know, because they have been raising these issues for years, that the Government is simply not on their side. I am proud of all the Sinn Féin representatives and others in opposition who spoke in favour of the issues that those crews have been raising and that they want to be resolved.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Not a single Government backbencher spoke.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

De réir Bhuan-Ordaithe 85(2), cuirfear an vótáil siar go dtí an am vótála seachtainiúil, Dé Céadaoin, an 3 Nollaig 2025.