asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state the method adopted in recruiting the members of the crew of the recently launched Gaeltacht fishing boat, Ard Macha.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Gaeltacht Fishing Boat Crew.
The skipper was selected by me as the best qualified person among the applicants in County Donegal for boats of the Ard Macha type under the scheme for the supply of boats to natives of the Fior-Ghaeltacht. The conditions attached to the issue of the boat were that it should be based at Teelin, that a native of Teelin, selected by me as a prospective skipper of a similar boat to be issued under the scheme, be taken on the crew for training and experience and that all the members of the crew must be Irish speakers. The selection of the other members of the crew was, in accordance with the usual practice in the case of fishing boats, left to the discretion of the skipper.
Would the Minister state did the skipper actually recruit the crew and by what means? Was there an interview or was any test applied?
In regard to the crew working under this skipper?
Yes.
No; the only restriction——
I should like the Minister to be clear as to which skipper I am referring to. It is the skipper who is acting temporarily for six months.
The fact is that these are larger boats than are usually handled in this area. The skipper designate——
This is the Teelin man?
This is the man from Gola. He has taken the Ard Macha to sea, with the assistance of a navigator supplied by the Naval Service of the Department of Defence. The condition of the Gola man being made skipper-designate of this boat is that he will bring to sea with him a Teelin man. As soon as the present Gola man has sufficient experience he will become skipper and navigator of the Ard Macha under the terms of the scheme. He is the person who chooses the crew, subject to one condition—that one of the crew shall be the skipper-designate who will go with the present skipper to get experience so that when another boat of the Ard Macha type is available he will be able to become skipper.
Is the Minister aware that the other members of the crew were appointed before they knew who the skipper was?
I am not so aware. In fact my understanding is that the choice of members of the crew is a matter for the skipper-designate.
Would the Minister not agree that it is both important and desirable to have the crew recruited from among the men of the Teelin Gaeltacht who know the waters of the area so very well?
I hope the boat will operate in much wider waters than in those surrounding Teelin. If the boat is going to cruise up and down Teelin harbour I will be very disappointed. This is a 56 feet boat, the largest ever issued by Bord Iascaigh Mhara.
Will the Minister not agree that it must go in and out of Teelin harbour each day?
I hope to see it at sea for several days. The Deputy is getting out of date. This boat will be at sea for several days at a time. The Deputy will be dazzled when he sees this boat. When he sees three or four other such boats ply along that coast he will get a weakness.
May I ask the Minister if he is aware that it is only after considerable persuasion that the local man accepted a berth on that boat? Would he further agree that the three other boats on the stocks at the moment are being allocated to other areas?
But we will build dozens of them with God's help, as fast as the boat yards can build them.