Maura Hopkins (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for taking this Commencement matter. Sub-aqua clubs engaged in underwater search and recovery provide a vital service at a time of great heartbreak for many people. Much of their work focuses on cases where the time for a rescue has passed and the focus is on recovery of a deceased person in order that a body can be returned to a family.

By its very nature, search and recovery is very costly. Equipment required for search and recovery operations needs to be of a high quality and durable and includes diving suits, diving communication units, other technologies, boats and the cost of training, all of which are extremely expensive. This equipment is currently being funded by clubs across the country through voluntary contributions.

I recently met members of the Roscommon Sub Aqua Club which is one example of a sub-aqua club in real need of funding and support. It is one of the largest in the new affiliated grouping in the midlands, with 14 fully-registered divers to support the Irish Coast Guard. Each diver has to be in the water regularly in order to ensure their bodies are conditioned for deep sea diving and to meet standards required to engage in search and recovery operations.

Members of the club have told me that, for example, their boat has to be on the water every week in order to support training and search and recovery operations. The club currently has a 13 year old boat which is completely unsuitable for the work it carries out. I have been told it is not fit for purpose. A new rescue boat would cost approximately €70,000, which the voluntary club simply cannot afford. However, it is a cost that needs to be met in order to further support the vital work carried out by club and others across the country.

In the past three months alone, the club has been involved in three separate search and recovery operations. One recent incident involved a number of people who got into difficulties while out on water in rough conditions. The Roscommon Sub Aqua Club was called in and was involved in a recovery operation which lasted approximately 20 days. The cost of this operation amounted to €100 per hour in fuel costs alone.

It is clear that the operations in which it is involved are extremely costly, yet the service provided is invaluable and priceless for the families affected. Roscommon Sub Aqua Club and other clubs need to be supported by the Government. Page 52 of A Programme for a Partnership Government states: "We recognise the need for a grant aid scheme for underwater search and recovery, in line with the state support currently available to mountain search and rescue."

The members of the Roscommon Sub Aqua Club and others across the country are very committed and carry out their work to a very high standard. They carry out very important work which involves very high risk. The value of the service to families to be underestimated.

A situation where clubs like Roscommon Sub Aqua Club have to spend a significant amount of their time fundraising to support vital operations means they cannot be where they need to be, namely, effective in terms of supporting the Irish Coast Guard. Therefore, I call on the Minister of State to provide an update on plans to introduce the grant aid scheme for underwater search and recovery, in line with the commitment in A Programme for a Partnership Government.

Following discussions with various Departments over the past number of months, I am aware this issue is within the remit of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross. I also ask that the Minister of State make the Minister, Deputy Ross, very aware of the demands currently being placed on Roscommon Sub Aqua Club and others right across the country and to support the vital work they do.

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Hopkins for raising this very important Commencement matter with regard to Roscommon Sub Aqua Club and other clubs all over the country, and the great work they do. I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport. Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross.

The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport has recently been assigned responsibility for this matter under A Programme for a Partnership Government. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify the Department’s role in regard to search and rescue. The Irish Coast Guard, as a division of the Department, has the delegated responsibility for maritime search and rescue. The Irish Coast Guard provides maritime search and rescue through its three rescue co-ordination centres and dedicated search and rescue units.

These search and rescue units comprise the search and rescue helicopters and Coast Guard volunteer units. Search and rescue units are also declared to the Coast Guard from the RNLI with which the Coast Guard has a very close working relationship.

As is recommended practice worldwide, search and rescue in Ireland is built upon the rescue centres listening for and receiving distress messages and responding to, sending and co-ordinating search and rescue units to the scene of an incident. The Coast Guard uses the search and rescue helicopters, Coast Guard volunteer units and RNLI lifeboats to respond to vessels or persons in distress at sea.

The network of search and rescue units has been built up over many years and today provides a first-class response to persons and vessels in distress. The location, distribution and response services provided with these resources are kept under review, with a view to development and improvement in the delivery of search and rescue services. In addition, the Coast Guard engages and co-operates with neighbouring states as part of the global search and rescue system. The Coast Guard volunteers, search and rescue helicopters, rescue co-ordination centres and full-time Coast Guard staff are managed and funded on foot of the Department's responsibility to provide and support search and rescue services in line with Ireland’s international commitment.

Turning specifically to the matter of underwater search and rescue, I should state that due to the very recent assignment of responsibility to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport I understand there has not been an opportunity for any in-depth analysis to take place. On initial examination of the matter, it should be pointed out that to draw a comparison between underwater search and rescue and mountain rescue is not quite as simplistic as may appear.

Mountain rescue is carried out by dedicated mountain rescue teams who are declared resources to An Garda Síochána to aid in the search for missing persons, in addition to assisting those who get into difficulty on our hills and mountains. There is a systematic procedure involved for their tasking and there is no other entity in the State directly tasked with this responsibility. Mountain rescue teams are charitable organisations run by volunteers. They are in receipt of modest grants from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport which do not purport to cover all costs associated with the running of the teams.

The Department does not exercise any operational oversight over mountain rescue teams due to the fact that they are search and rescue resources and are tasked directly by An Garda Síochána. Responsibility for the recovery of bodies underwater rests with An Garda Síochána and the dedicated Garda water unit. The Garda authorities may request the assistance of Irish Naval Service divers. They may also seek the support of the Coast Guard, including the helicopter service, full-time Coast Guard staff and volunteers. The Coast Guard does not undertake diving activities. If necessary, specialist commercial diving resources may also be deployed.

These arrangements reflect the inherent risks involved in this type of activity. The Coast Guard, when acting in support of An Garda Síochána in underwater recovery, does not as a general rule, request or avail of the assistance of divers who turn up at the scene of a maritime incident as a result of media coverage. In fact, in 2016 the Coast Guard entered into an agreement with the Irish Underwater Council, the national governing body for recreational underwater sports, in order to clarify that the responsibility to manage such club divers rests with the Irish Underwater Council.

In light of the above, and specifically the recreational aspect, it is important that this matter is thoroughly analysed and researched, in particular the relationship to the health and safety diving regulations and recreational divers, with a view to investigating fully the provision of funding to entities which the Department would not generally task with undertaking search and recovery on behalf of the State.

Maura Hopkins (Fine Gael)
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I very much appreciate the Minister of State's response on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross. I emphasise, however, that I am not particularly happy with it. It seems as if there has just been an initial examination of the matter and the outcome is not particularly positive. It is stated: "On initial examination of the matter, it should be pointed out that to draw a comparison between underwater search and recovery and mountain rescue is not quite as simplistic a similarity as it may appear." However, this falls within A Programme for a Partnership Government. We are talking about affiliated volunteers who complete training to meet standards to engage in search and recovery operations throughout the country. They need equipment to support these operations, but it is very costly. They need to be supported properly. They are committed individuals who, in co-operation with the Irish Coast Guard, wish to engage heavily in whatever operation they are called on to participate. I cannot accept the reply provided. Following a more in-depth examination of the matter by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I ask that we receive a proper update on plans to introduce a grant aid scheme. We have a written commitment to recognise the important work of the volunteers and their need for financial assistance and support. I am not at all satisfied with the nature of the reply provided.

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I will relay the Senator's concerns to the Minister. To be fair, he states he has only recently been assigned responsibility for this area in A Programme for a Partnership Government. As I noted, the Irish Coast Guard has a suite of options to which it will resort in the event that it is called on to support underwater recovery activities. In the first instance, such activities are the responsibility of An Garda Síochána which has its own diving team. Second, the Naval Service can be requested to act in aid of the civil power using its own diving teams and equipment. Additionally, if circumstances so require, commercial diving companies can be engaged and specialised equipment such as remotely operated underwater vehicles sourced. In some circumstances, it might be the case that the assistance of private citizens or recreational divers who are members of diving clubs might be availed of. However, because of the inherent risks to which I have referred, such assistance must, of necessity, be limited. These activities must be undertaken by properly trained and equipped professionals under appropriate supervision such as members of Naval Service or Garda diving teams.

I acknowledge that some of the equipment used is costly and that the people mentioned are volunteers. Perhaps the Senator might request permission for a delegation to meet the Minister or his officials or she might write to the Chairman of the Oireachtas committee to ask that the matter be discussed. The committee could invite representatives of local or national sub-aqua teams to attend a meeting to engage in a more detailed discussion when it might be possible to achieve all-party consensus on the matter. I was involved in securing a once-off grant for capital infrastructure from the Department under the then Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, for replacement of mountain rescue vehicles. Perhaps that avenue might also be explored.