Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive, almost 20-minute, contribution. Senator Craughwell has a great deal of experience in the area of defence and the Air Corps, and in regard to this particular incident. At a meeting of the Joint Committee of Transport this morning, we spent a great deal of time discussing the Irish Coast Guard in general, as well as other issues. We barely touched on the issue of the R116, but it was mentioned.

I want to put on record my perspective and that of the Fianna Fáil Party regarding the tragic accident that claimed the lives of Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Captain Mark Duffy, winchman Ciarán Smith and winch operator Paul Ormsby on 14 March 2017, at which time I was a new Senator in this House. These individuals were dedicated, all day every day of their working lives, to saving other people's lives. What happened was an enormously traumatic event not only for the nation, but for the four families, friends and work colleagues, their lives were changed forever by a needless accident that we are now, unfortunately, calling an organisational accident, as if it was a slip on the stairs. I do not mean that against the Minister of State. It is about much more than that. It is about real families. Dara Fitzpatrick grew up in Dublin. Her family live in Kilternan, where I went to pay my condolences to her father, whom I know. She was there on 17 March 2016, St. Patrick's Day. It was shocking to be there after the incident happened. It was all so needless. As a Parliament, we owe it to the families to ensure that something like this never happens again. More than anything else, that is what I want to get across today. There is no point in my repeating all that has been said by the Minister of State and Senators Craughwell, Doherty and Martin. We must make sure that every recommendation is implemented in a timely fashion. There is no point in my repeating exactly what happened and the 71 failures in terms of what happened.

As a State with have great expertise in aviation. An Irish person leads one of the world's largest low cost carriers, an Irish person leads IATA and an Irish person leading British Airways. Half of all the aircraft in the world that are leased are based out of this jurisdiction. How could this have happened? It was the most basic stuff that went wrong, such as structures not being identified on maps. We built lighthouses hundreds of years ago around the coast to let people know where there were rocks, but the crew of this mission did not know where this structure was. It was traumatising for all of us to learn of what happened at the time. Two of the families never even got closure in terms of getting their loved ones back, being able to bury them and having a grave to visit. That makes the situation even more difficult for those families.

As has been stated already, nobody is blaming the Minister of State. I hope she knows that. The report states that the actions of the crew were not a factor in the crash. It is important to highlight that there is no ambiguity there; it was not their fault. There were many people at fault in many different ways. It is a pity that R116 was called out because, as Senator Doherty stated, it really did not need to be there at all.It is a pity they were called out when, as Senator Doherty said, they did not really need to be there at all. People can be called out and something happens but the fact is that the most basic objects that should have been on the map as a danger to aviation were not on those maps. I cannot comprehend that most basic of facts. Somebody implemented these systems and loaded them but did not check the detail of what was clearly known to everybody. Anybody who had been there knew of these physical features. It is a traumatic case.

From my perspective and that of my party, I know we will help the Minister of State. As a Member in a party of the Government, I will certainly help her in any way I can but it is not about me. It is about the Government, the Cabinet, the Department of Transport, the Irish Aviation Authority, the Coast Guard and everyone dealing with this in the most immediate and timely way. We must ensure that nobody flying at any stage is again in a position where he or she literally does not know exactly what is being flown into. That should never happen again.