Maura Hopkins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking this Commencement matter. Sub-aqua clubs engaged in underwater search and recovery provide a vital service at a time of great heartbreak for many people. Much of their work focuses on cases where the time for a rescue has passed and the focus is on recovery of a deceased person in order that a body can be returned to a family.

By its very nature, search and recovery is very costly. Equipment required for search and recovery operations needs to be of a high quality and durable and includes diving suits, diving communication units, other technologies, boats and the cost of training, all of which are extremely expensive. This equipment is currently being funded by clubs across the country through voluntary contributions.

I recently met members of the Roscommon Sub Aqua Club which is one example of a sub-aqua club in real need of funding and support. It is one of the largest in the new affiliated grouping in the midlands, with 14 fully-registered divers to support the Irish Coast Guard. Each diver has to be in the water regularly in order to ensure their bodies are conditioned for deep sea diving and to meet standards required to engage in search and recovery operations.

Members of the club have told me that, for example, their boat has to be on the water every week in order to support training and search and recovery operations. The club currently has a 13 year old boat which is completely unsuitable for the work it carries out. I have been told it is not fit for purpose. A new rescue boat would cost approximately €70,000, which the voluntary club simply cannot afford. However, it is a cost that needs to be met in order to further support the vital work carried out by club and others across the country.

In the past three months alone, the club has been involved in three separate search and recovery operations. One recent incident involved a number of people who got into difficulties while out on water in rough conditions. The Roscommon Sub Aqua Club was called in and was involved in a recovery operation which lasted approximately 20 days. The cost of this operation amounted to €100 per hour in fuel costs alone.

It is clear that the operations in which it is involved are extremely costly, yet the service provided is invaluable and priceless for the families affected. Roscommon Sub Aqua Club and other clubs need to be supported by the Government. Page 52 of A Programme for a Partnership Government states: "We recognise the need for a grant aid scheme for underwater search and recovery, in line with the state support currently available to mountain search and rescue."

The members of the Roscommon Sub Aqua Club and others across the country are very committed and carry out their work to a very high standard. They carry out very important work which involves very high risk. The value of the service to families to be underestimated.

A situation where clubs like Roscommon Sub Aqua Club have to spend a significant amount of their time fundraising to support vital operations means they cannot be where they need to be, namely, effective in terms of supporting the Irish Coast Guard. Therefore, I call on the Minister of State to provide an update on plans to introduce the grant aid scheme for underwater search and recovery, in line with the commitment in A Programme for a Partnership Government.

Following discussions with various Departments over the past number of months, I am aware this issue is within the remit of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross. I also ask that the Minister of State make the Minister, Deputy Ross, very aware of the demands currently being placed on Roscommon Sub Aqua Club and others right across the country and to support the vital work they do.