Feargal Quinn (Independent)

At 4 a.m. today a ship sank at the rocks off Howth and I live nearby. Within ten minutes a lifeboat was launched and the four men on the rocks were rescued. I mention this because we tend to forget the amount of active citizenship that exists in this country thanks to people who give their time and effort to be available for work such as lifeboat rescues. Those of us who heard Mr. Rupert Jeffare on the radio this morning could not help but hang on every word detailing what happened.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, RNLI, receives State support. I do not know how much, but I raise this matter to draw attention to the fact that it seeks voluntary contributions from us and those of us who use ships rely on the active citizenship its members show. I asked for a debate on active citizenship some months ago in the previous Seanad and it has not yet happened. The Taoiseach launched the debate on active citizenship last year with a great deal of encouragement for the practice and it would be useful to have a debate to remind us of the great work being done voluntarily by many people throughout the country. We do not realise how much we depend on these people but when we really need them they are there to help. I would like to see a debate in the House on active citizenship soon.