Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With the greatest respect to the Minister, I fundamentally disagree with the sentiments he has expressed. There is a need to put the Coast Guard on a statutory footing and that response could have been e-mailed to me, quite frankly. I ask the Minister to engage personally with the Coast Guard, to meet its representatives face to face and listen to their real and valid concerns. I also extend an invitation to the Minister to come and visit the west coast to see what these people do at first hand. They risk their lives to the peril of the sea every day and it would be a worthwhile visit.