Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I concur with the remarks of other Senators and offer my deep sympathy and condolences to those who lost dear ones in my home territory off Baltimore yesterday evening. It is very difficult to understand the plight of those who are suffering the loss of three family members, and I note the search for the missing body. I have been involved in two such rescues, one of which resulted in a body not being recovered from a tragedy that occurred in Bantry Bay. In another incident, when the body of somebody very close to me was recovered the divers handed me the body to bring it back into the boat. When one goes through that experience one feels the deep emotion, tragedy and loss, and no words of mine will be sufficiently adequate to console those suffering, particularly the teenage girl who lost her brother, her brother's girlfriend and her father. She saw that unfold, and I wish the Lord will calm her and give her some consolation in this desperate situation.

It is important to say this was a freak incident. We hear talk of safety at sea, the need to wear life jackets and all sorts of gadgets whereby if one falls overboard, a signal will be sent to the lifeguard station and so on. That does not apply in this situation. It was a rogue wave. People were walking along the shoreline on a lovely afternoon, which is something I and many other people would do. When somebody is washed out to sea the normal reaction is for the father, son, girlfriend or boyfriend, as the case may be, to jump in to rescue that person. That is basically what happened. I hope the community as a whole will bear that suffering, and that they will bond together. Unfortunately, tragedies of this nature, whether they are fishing or drowning tragedies, are commonplace in west Cork or off the coast.I hope the other body will be recovered because the recovery of a body is a huge consolation and brings some sort of closure.

I ask the Leader to ascertain from the Minister with responsibility for the marine and fisheries, Deputy Simon Coveney, the reason he has not met a group of 60 razor fishermen from the east coast who have implored and beseeched him to meet them on certain issues they wish to raise. This request is reasonable and I urge the Leader to convey my annoyance and displeasure at the Minister's refusal to meet this group. They can meet him in Dublin in Leinster House or anywhere that is convenient to him. It is a very basic request on issues they have and it is a very democratic request. I urge the Leader that the Minister should attend to this as soon as possible. If not, I will table amendments to the Order of Business next week to compel the Minister to come to the House to explain his reasons for not meeting these fishermen.