Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Dempsey. I also welcome the legislation. We aspire to play a constructive role in examining the Bill and, possibly, tabling amendments where we consider it needs to be strengthened.

As I have consistently stated in various debates on marine issues, we do not have a Minister with responsibility for the marine. We have a newly appointed Minister of State, Deputy Connick, who is working hard on the review of the Common Fisheries Policy, but traditionally we had a Minister for and a Department of the Marine and a dedicated Civil Service staff. Responsibility for the marine has been separated between the Minister for Transport, the Minister for Communication, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Ryan, and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Smith. This is not to take from the commitment of Ministers dealing with aspects of the portfolio, but an overall integrated marine strategy that addresses the issues facing us could be used to reboot coastal and rural economies.

The information pack provided by the Oireachtas Library and Research Service is of considerable benefit to us in this debate, but the volume of export and shipping trade in the State is significant. Sometimes we need to think outside the box where the marine is concerned. It is one of those areas that needs innovation and which, with a push, could lead to economic recovery and sustain jobs in rural and coastal economies. Manufacturing industries in large urban centres tell their own story, particularly in the current difficult international climate, but I will cite some useful statistics. Every job created at sea generates approximately €7 in the local economy. That is hugely important. I come from west Cork, as the Minister may be aware, and the south western seaboard from Kinsale to the peninsulas, over to Castletownbere and taking in Glandore, Union Hall, Baltimore and all of those areas, is worth a great deal to us locally. The seafood industry is a very important area of activity.

I agree wholeheartedly with the points Senator Ellis rightly made. We have seen some appalling abuses of workers and appalling treatment of human beings by unscrupulous employers and people who, unfortunately, will never be accountable in this country. We must examine that issue. It is beyond belief that in the past two years members of a crew on a ship docked here were literally eating dog food. That is disgusting, and the people responsible for that deserve to be in jail. People in trade unions have been championing that cause for a long time but it is beyond belief that any of our cities with a port, such as Cork city, might have a ship in the harbour on which human beings are being treated in that way. One would not treat dogs in that way. If somebody did that to an animal here there would be a provision in law to address it and ensure the person responsible was dealt with. It is not good enough that people can take advantage in that regard. In terms of the displacement issue of five or six years ago, people were using that type of position to take advantage of workers' rights. That is one of the issues that sticks in my craw.

A particular aspect of the Bill deals with our offshore islands. I remind the Minister of one issue which goes back some years. It concerns the chomharchumann on Cape Clear which had operated a very successful ferry service in and out of Baltimore. The contract was due for renewal. It went through a tender process and the co-operative lost that contract; somebody else won it. In the context of that transfer of contract there is a TUPE clause in the legislation, which means the transfer of undertakings. That TUPE clause allows for the safeguarding of the terms and conditions of the people who were working before the contract changed. It ensures their conditions do not change, particularly in terms of their earnings, the hours they work and so forth but a situation arose where the contract went from one operator to another and, lo and behold, the TUPE clause was not in the new contract. That resulted in job losses, a reduction in costs on the part of the new operator and the conditions being changed. The idea behind TUPE was to protect people from that type of situation but, unfortunately, the opposite was the case.

I ask the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, to bear in mind that when we are dealing with the broader issue of workers' rights and conditions it is essential there is a well-established policy that is adhered to and that individual positions will not be granted where conditions change. That is not helpful. In any controversy that arises in any village or small town throughout the country there is a bitter aftertaste and despite people's best intentions, that could linger on. That is not helpful.

On the question of the raising of sea vessels, I feel obliged to raise the issue of Asgard II. That is one of those decisions we will live to regret as an island nation. Asgard II sank some years ago in the Bay of Biscay. We have raised that issue consistently in this House and Tom MacSweeney, the retired marine correspondent with RTE, was strong on the issue also. Asgard II was the national sail training boat and an important part of the marine life of this country in terms of extending to future generations an activity that can be enjoyable but also commercially viable to this country. The vessel was insured and there was not any sound reason not to raise it. In terms of the history of Asgard II, the granddaughter of the benefactor of Asgard is now a Labour MEP but I hope that will not colour the thinking of the Department or the Minister in terms of taking action when it comes to dealing with what is a national treasure. It is not good enough that the vessel lies somewhere off the Bay of Biscay.

On trading, development and the issue of safety at sea, I was telling Senator Donohoe before coming into the Chamber that too many people have lost a parent, more often than not their father, at sea. Regarding the recent controversy over the lost at sea scheme, the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has had the Minister, the former Minister and the officials before it to examine the lost at sea scheme but it is as if the term "lost at sea" does not penetrate our psyche. It literally means that people have lost their lives at sea. Families have lost loved ones. They will never have a grave to go to or be able to go through a proper grieving process in terms of giving them a Christian burial or the send off that is traditional in this country. That is tragic and it is heartbreaking to see someone who has been affected by that. It is something we must be mindful of in the future in terms of allowing people the opportunity to train and be aware of safety standards.

I will give the Minister an example. I come from Dunmanway, the geographical centre point of west Cork. I am aware the Minister is familiar with the area. A former constituent of his who is now living in Dunmanway reminded me some time ago that the Minister attended 12 o'clock mass in Dunmanway and may have got into the Sam Maguire memorial park on the same morning but that location is central to the south-west coast. We have a swimming pool in Dunmanway publicly owned by Cork County Council since the late 1970s and everybody below the age of 40 would be a fairly good swimmer in the town because of that facility. That is something we take for granted. Children of 12, 13 of 14 years of age swim without even thinking about it but, unfortunately, the lack of that skill among people involved in the marine is frightening. People tell them they are at the mercy of the sea but they do not have that basic skill in terms of safety, never mind the leisure aspect. We must put in place structures that allow people the opportunity to become competent in terms of safety be it in swimming or the academic side that may well follow. We must put major emphasis on that in the future.

Senator Ellis made another important point about the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico which has had a huge effect in terms of BP and the possibility of fines and the stock market reaction to it. The consequences are major. We must ensure we do not find ourselves in a similar position. This country led the way some years ago in terms of the smoking ban. With political conviction and imagination we can lead the way in a number of other areas. We can put in place structures and laws that require people to behave to a standard. It is similar to the debates we had on one-off rural houses when the Minister of State, Deputy Dick Roche, was Minister for the Environment, to his credit he brought in guidelines on this area but they were just guidelines. If we do not legally compel people or require them to do what we would like them to do it will not happen. Another important aspect is the issue of enforcement.

I welcome the Minister and his officials. I look forward to tabling amendments on the other Stages to ensure this legislation leaves this House in a better condition than when it arrived.