Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I rise to express my condolences to the family of the three young men lost off the coast of Waterford and would like to use the opportunity to raise the poor system under the current Government and under previous Governments where the fishing industry has become the poor relation in the farming sector. Perhaps today is not the day to call for urgent debates on the fishing industry but we must look closely at marine safety.

I was recently in Castletownbere where a new RNLI station was opened. The guest of honour was none other than Tom McSweeney, a great journalist, writer and broadcaster who presented the wonderful programme "Seascapes". In his oration, if it could be called that, he condemned politicians for neglecting the fishing industry for the last 30 years, which we must admit to, and he made the point that it is only when there are tragedies like this and the Tit Bonhomme in Union Hall that the media take up the flag for the fishermen. Whether it is RTE, The Irish Times or the Irish Examiner, it is always the same when these tragedies occur - there are front page headlines about fishermen and then fishing is forgotten again until the next tragedy. If the media is listening, perhaps RTE could reintroduce a programme like "Seascapes" and have some focus on the fishermen. Some of these young men in my area are those who were forced out of work in the construction industry, have bought small boats and many of them are now fishing lobster, with the end result that lobster will be fished out in the next few years. No one is listening.

Today is not the day to do it but next week or the week after that I will demand that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine come before the House for a broad debate on this topic. Unfortunately only about half a dozen Senators will take part because there is no interest in fishing here either.