Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House to deal with this issue. He will be aware of the history of sail training in Ireland. For many years, including during my childhood, although I was never a trainee on it, I was often on board the Asgard II,which many people throughout Ireland will fondly recall as a sail training vessel that worked for many years with people from non-sailing backgrounds, that is, people who would never ordinarily have had an opportunity to get on a sailing boat and to experience what it is to be at sea under the power of the wind alone. It brought together people from all kinds of communities and gave them an opportunity to experience the marine in a way very few of us get to do.

As the Minister will be aware, in 2008, the Asgard IIwas sailing to France for maintenance and, unfortunately, seemed to hit something. Ultimately, it took on water and sank in September of that year. It still lies at the bottom of the Bay of Biscay. Although there was a campaign to raise and restore it, I think that, realistically, that moment has passed, even though we know where it is and it was not badly damaged in the sinking. The cost of bringing it back would be exorbitant. Moreover, we recognise that the Asgard II, although a fine vessel and one of which we all have fond memories, was a relatively small vessel in the context of the kinds of ships used for this kind of sail training and tall ship sailing.

While called the Asgard II, the vessel was named after the Asgard, which was used to smuggle guns to rebels in Ireland at the time of the fledgling status of this State and which is available to see at Collins Barracks. It is not actually connected to that ship, however, and I do not think there is a need for sail training vessels to have that historical connection. Their purpose is to provide a vehicle for people who want to get involved in or experience sailing. The importance of that is undisputable.

I pay tribute to the Atlantic Youth Trust, which has been at the forefront of pushing the idea that there would be, once again, a proper Irish sail training vessel that would allow many people from various backgrounds to get involved in sailing and to experience what it is to be in the marine industry. The Atlantic Youth Trust and Enda O'Coineen, to whom I have spoken about this and who lives in my constituency, is a committed philanthropist in this area, as well as being a former chairman of Coiste an Asgard, the governing body that managed the Asgard II, have identified a vessel that is afloat and available in Sweden and that could be purchased to become a new Irish sail training vessel. It is a model of a 1909 Danish schooner but it was only built in the early 1980s and is a solid steel ship of 164 ft. It is a significant vessel, much larger than the Asgard II, but a suitable vessel to replace it as the Irish sail training vessel.

The Minister already has been contacted about this but I raised this issue to encourage him to go down the path of allowing this vessel to be put in place and allowing us to put back on train a proper sail training programme for Ireland and the people on this island. I refer not just to the Republic; this is, I hope, an all-island venture. Ultimately, we are a marine community. We live on an island and are connected to the sea, yet many of our people do not get an opportunity to enjoy that connection to the sea. I hope the Minister will be able to tell us there is support for this project at Government level and we can progress it. I hope we can look forward once again to having a fine square-rigged, tall-ship sail training vessel available to people from throughout this island, from all backgrounds, and particularly young people who have never experienced sailing, that will allow them to get on the water, feel what it is like and, I hope, build a connection with the sea that lies all around this island.