Gerard Craughwell (Independent)

I congratulate the interview board for the new Clerk of the Seanad because they made life very easy for me. I will just keep calling him Martin. I congratulate Martin Hughes and I am delighted to have him on board. If he is looking for an example of perfect discipline in the House, he should look towards me. He will see I obey all of the rules all of the time.

The issue of the Tricolour was raised a few moments ago. As I was walking into the House this morning, I looked at the Tricolour that hangs over Leinster House. The Cathaoirleach should have a look at it himself later today because, to be honest, it looks a bit threadbare. We should rotate it fairly quickly. I also make the point that hotels and guesthouses have the Tricolour hanging outside their venues and the flags are filthy dirty. It is not that difficult to change them every couple of weeks to keep them clean. Senator Fitzpatrick is dead right in what she said. The Tricolour is us. It is our nation and everything we stand for.

Today I want to speak once again about search and rescue. Bristow was awarded the contract and it was supposed to be up and running throughout the country in July. As far as I am aware, it is not yet up and running. Now we see industrial relations issues coming down the line pretty quickly. Members of staff on 24-hour standby leave their families and live in either designated houses or hotels to be available 24 hours, for example, from 1 p.m. today until 1 p.m. tomorrow. Bristow has decided that from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. they should only be awarded 15 minutes pay for every hour. This means that a 24-hour shift becomes a 16-hour-and-30-minute shift. This is outrageous. There are employment laws in this country and Europe that state if people have to stay in a place for 24 hours they are paid for 24 hours. It is not as if the staff can wander home at some hour of the evening and be available at the house. They must stay in the designated area. I would like the Minister to come to the House to discuss this. Perhaps when he is here, we might look at how Bristow finished up getting the contract. I am delighted to see the Committee of Public Accounts has called Bristow before it.

I have mentioned the post-2013 pension several times. It is detrimental to the emergency services of this country, including the Army, Garda, Prison Service and fire service. We have to have a debate on 2013 pension so we can explore the detrimental impact it has had on these organisations.

I wish Bridget Doody and Martin Groves well. They are tremendous people and were great support when they were here. Best of luck to Martin Hughes as he heads out and any time he needs a bit of advice he should give me a shout.