Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I concur that Mr. Mulvey is certainly a name that one would hope would attract a lot of support and agreement. Regardless of the mediator appointed, I very much welcome the Minister of State's commitment to appoint one. The mediator has to be independent of the Coast Guard because the representative organisation operates under the auspices of the Coast Guard and all the HR staff hired to deal with this were paid for by the Coast Guard. This matter needs to be addressed by the Department. The Coast Guard must not have anything to do with it because its role has been the nub of why a resolution has not been found to date. I ask the Minister of State to ensure that the arrangement will be independent of the Coast Guard in the first instance. Second, she might give us a timeline as to when she hopes to meet her officials and make an announcement on the appointment of a mediator.