Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The response is very bleak. Lines such as, "That process will call for tough decisions to be made. It is important to recognise that resources available to the maritime services are very limited and must be deployed on a prioritised basis and as effectively and efficiently as possible to address the most urgent needs," do not read as a vote of confidence in the future of the Malin Head Coast Guard station. Many of my colleagues, from Fianna Fáil and other Opposition parties, as well as some members of the Government parties, have signed a petition calling for the head of the Coast Guard service and the Minister to come before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications to discuss this issue. That needs to happen soon and I believe the meeting is scheduled to take place on 24 October. This situation is urgent and the lack of a clear response from the Minister is disappointing. The Minister should come out at this stage and say, quite clearly, that one of the recommendations of the report is to close down a station but that he is not going to close any station. That is what should be said now, as a vote of confidence in the staff in Malin Head and the service being provided, and as a reassurance to the communities who benefit from that service, year after year, including the young man whose life was saved just outside Convoy this week as a result of the swift actions by the Malin Head Coast Guard station.