Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that the Ilen boat, the only surviving wooden sailing vessel of its type, which was rebuilt in Limerick, is on its way to Greenland as part of the Salmon's Wake project. It will highlight the plight of the salmon leaving the River Shannon and heading towards Greenland. I raise this issue because it is a wonderful project which was done under an educational scheme. People across the community - artists, educationalists and craftspeople - came together and showed each other the craft of making the boat by hand.

We had the Asgardproject in the past, which was involved in sail training. I sailed on the Asgard; I was a watch leader. It is time we considered bringing back something like the Asgard, a sail training ship, because many youths across the country, both North and South, received very worthwhile training when they were on the Asgard. I ask the Leader to bring this issue to the attention of the Minister.