Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second the amendment proposed by Senator Darragh O'Brien. I ask the Leader for support with regard to the plight of seafaring people and small fishermen, having regard to the terrible tragedy off the coastline a few days ago, in the Leader's area. The one tiny glimmer of light that came from it was that the bodies of the three men were found and they were repatriated and buried onshore. I know of 100 families in my area where the bodies were never recovered. They were washed out to sea and never found so there was no closure or burial. I raised this some time ago, as did Senator Cullinane. I ask the Leader to insist that the Minister with responsibility for the marine introduces a grant system or pilot scheme for personal location beacons, which are a watch type device. If someone falls in when out on a small boat, as was the case of these three fishermen, or when the boat capsizes, an automatic signal goes out and the local lifeguard station can pick up the signal. In seconds, the station can identify where the tragedy took place and initiate an immediate response so there is a much better chance of recovering people alive rather than dead.

In this sad case, the three men were wearing life jackets but due to the cold water I suggest they died of hypothermia. The number of people lost at sea, pro rata, is far greater than the number of people lost on our roads. We have a very small population of sea goers and fishermen. I am not talking about people who can afford yachts but guys who go out part-time to try to make a living, which is becoming more difficult. I am asking the Minister to initiate immediately a provision whereby personal location beacons are made compulsory. This should be done as soon as possible.