Joe O'Toole (Independent)

There have been many emotional discussions and debates about the merits of centralisation and decentralisation. In light of the agreement of all parties on the merits of decentralisation, it is unacceptable that there is a proposal before the Government at present to close the marine rescue stations in Malin and Valentia. It is appalling that we should do this. It shows a lack of understanding of the needs of seafarers. It is a classic ignorant east coast approach to a western issue. Anyone who has come through Dursey Sound or the Blasket Sound knowing that the Valentia rescue centre is within sight will know what I mean. It is not just about technology or radar screens. It is about hundreds of years of lore. It is about people who know the size of the swell two days after the waves have gone, who know the sounds of Sceilig Mhichíl agus Sceilig Bheag and can tell one from the other.

This action is appalling. It takes away from these two places. I do not know whether people know Malin Head and Valentia Island, but there is not a lot of work around and not much happening. The idea of taking away employment in those areas is unacceptable.

This is an all-party issue. The Minister should be told it is just not on. It is wrong and flies in the face of all we need. It was ironic that this hit the news yesterday when Malin station had just co-ordinated the rescue attempt for the Kennedy family in Inver in Donegal. The House should take a clear line on this and indicate that the closure is unacceptable. I would like the Minister to come to the House and discuss this so that we may explain to him that this is about more than technology and data. There is also a cost issue. The buildings and personnel are in place and any upgrading required can be done while retaining both stations.

To go from the local to the global, I wish to mention the plight of Íngrid Betancourt, the French-Colombian citizen who has spent five and a half years being held under torture, manacled, fettered and tied down by FARC guerillas in Colombia, who put themselves forward as supporters of human and civil rights. They are holding this woman without access to books or hygiene facilities, keeping her tied up with a group of male captives and forcing her to sleep in a hammock in the open air. She is the leader of the Green Oxygen Party in Colombia and has never done anything to aggravate any side of the conflict. She has been imprisoned and held captive for one reason only: she has opposed violence and terrorism.

The House should take a clear line on this. I would like the Minister for Foreign Affairs to recognise that Íngrid Betancourt is an EU citizen and therefore we should make every possible attempt to have her released. It is extraordinary and unfair. This is the type of thing that happened in the worst days of the gulags in Russia. We should put FARC in that context.