Terry Brennan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with previous speakers. I cannot believe it is one year almost to the day when a man whom I knew very personally, Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, was callously taken out of this world. He lived eight miles from my home and gave more than the call of duty to the Garda force and made major contribution to the youth in his local community of Lordship. It is my wish also that the perpetrators are brought to justice as soon as possible. I commend the Garda on its work and the success it has had and I hope the perpetrators will be brought to justice in the not too distant future.

I welcome the revised code of practice for the design, construction equipment and operation of small fishing vessels for fishing boats less than 15 m. The new code of practice will come into operation on 3 March 2014. Small fishing boats are currently required to carry emergency position indicating radio beacons. This revised code will require them to carry automatic float-free emergency position location beacons. Also, all fishermen on board will be obligated to wear personal locator beacons.

Every small fishing boat must be in compliance with the new requirements. Those requirements are in line with the safety initiative for Irish fishing industry vessels that was launched six or seven months ago by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar, and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, at Union Hall in the Leas-Chathaoirleach's native county of Cork. On the same day, the Ministers announced a new enhanced safety equipment grant aid scheme to help with the cost of installing the new equipment, which will undoubtedly prove valuable in accelerating response times. As a person who hails from a seaside fishing lough, I have witnessed several tragedies at sea. The new equipment will help crew members who get into difficulty and thereby help to reduce the number of tragedies off our coasts in the future.