Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 15 Apr 1986

Vol. 365 No. 4

Adjournment Debate. - Malin Head Radio Station.

Mr. Conaghan

I thank you, Sir, for the opportunity of raising on the Adjournment the problem facing the radio station operators at Malin Head and I am glad the Minister for Communications is here to answer the case. Appreciation is not shown for the work done by the radio station operators around our coasts. They are very remote from the rest of the population and they give a service to the people involved with the seas and the airways. The recognition given to these people by the general public is minimal and it would appear from the position in which they now find themselves that the recognition they are getting from the Department is similar.

To cut back on the overtime worked by these people who provide this very vital service for the preservation of life is to put these stations in a position where they will not be able to give full emergency cover. This is a ridiculous decision. Perhaps this decision has been taken by civil servants without the full knowledge of the Minister. I accept that the Minister would weigh up the consequences of a cutback in overtime worked by these officers and I do not believe he would agree to such a move because, despite the economic climate, the savings made by these cutbacks would be very insignificant in the overall budgetary position.

I am particularly interested in the Malin Head station which is most severely hit by Government cutbacks. Eleven men operate that station. The Minister may say that two extra staff members have been provided but they are trainees and it will be almost two years before they are fully competent radio station operators and able to handle any emergency which might arise. At present all overtime is banned but in exceptional circumstances they are allowed to call in another man. Unfortunately, they are unable to get the Department to clarify what constitutes an emergency and as a result they are unable to carry on normal operations. On at least 11 occasions in a two week period the secretary of the Arranmore lifeboat had to be warned that full cover could not be provided.

At present Malin Head radio station provides a service for the North Atlantic but cannot give full cover in an emergency. This should never have happened and it is very regrettable that I have had to bring this case to the floor of this House. It appears that the people who do not have any clout will be trampled on and their voices will not be heard despite the fact that the same people must accept responsibility when an emergency arises. The Valentia station were responsible for the telecommunications when the Indian aircraft crashed. About six weeks ago the Snekker Arctic sank in the North Atlantic and 18 lives were lost. The only radio communication available to those people was provided by the Malin Head radio station. The Clyde could not give them any cover nor could Belfast. There is ship-to-shore radio facilities in that station with the most modern equipment and they were the only people who were able to get rescue operations under way. On the file the Minister will see a letter from the French authorities acknowledging the service provided by the men at the Malin Head station during that unfortunate incident.

There is another problem at Malin Head and it is time the Minister addressed himself to it. There could be a second station there if a piece of equipment which has just been lying there for three years was located in the Killybegs or Glencolumbkille areas. I do not know why it has not been put into service. As long as it is lying there it is denying the fishermen and the people who operate boats from south-west Donegal down to Galway a ship-to-shore radio service. The Minister knows the great advantage this would be to the people operating in that area. Credit must go to this side of the House for initiating a ship-to-shore radio service. It is only right that this equipment should be put into service and a ship-to-shore service provided for the people operating from south-west Donegal down to Galway.

A new extension has been built to accommodate the telex equipment and other communications machinery which is at present installed in a room. This room holds this equipment and houses two, and sometimes three, operators and if there is an emergency there could be up to 11 operators in that room. It is not right that such a situation should be allowed to continue.

I ask the Minister to restore to those operators the conditions they enjoyed prior to the directive which issued from the Department banning all overtime. That is all they are asking for at the moment. I am asking the Minister to get the equipment that has been lying there for three years into operation. I do not accept that no sites can be procured at Glencolumbkille to accommodate this equipment. That is not an answer but it is the stock answer that is coming back. I ask him also to allow work to continue on the development of the premises there, to get the equipment transferred into those premises and to give the men in the station proper living and working conditions. God knows it is dull enough to be stuck in Malin Head on a winter's night with a gale howling outside and to be working there under very unsociable and deplorable conditions. Those men deserve better.

The Minister has been unfair in his treatment of these men. People at a station in the Shannon area in a similar situation made their case and got an allocation. Whether that allocation is sufficient to accommodate them over the next 12 months is not too clear, but I understand that it is given because they have a payment from the air services who have to communicate with them from time to time. It is not fair that the operation which these men carry out and the important work they do should be quantified in terms of money. On an island we cannot afford to take money as a yardstick of the services provided by the people who man and operate these radio stations. I appeal to the Minister tonight to let them revert to their original working conditions, to update their present accommodation and instal the equipment that is there to give the people who must earn their livelihood from the sea the same protection that the people have in Malin Head.

I conclude now to allow the remainder of my time to Deputy P. Gallagher who is very familiar with the conditions under which fishermen and people who have to earn their livelihood from the sea work. I am sure he will establish a case in this issue.

Mr. P. Gallagher

I am glad to have the opportunity of adding my voice to that of Deputy Conaghan who has made an excellent case which I hope will elicit a favourable response from the Minister. In the light of the history of Malin Head it is unfortunate that in 1986 we are confronted with cutbacks in the Department of Communications resulting in a reduced service at Malin Head. This service has never been interrupted in any way and this station has never been manned by fewer than two men since 1890 when it was set up by the British and taken over by the Royal Navy. It was funded by the British until 1950 when it was taken over by this Government and the former Department of Transport and Power when it was out at Banbas Crown. Later a more suitable location for it was found at Ballygorman. After 90 years it is unfortunate that this year we are confronted with a problem such as this.

Malin Head is responsible for some of the most rugged coastline in the world, from the north-west and west coasts of Ireland right down to Galway and Mayo and north to the Scottish coast and right into the Atlantic. This station, like many others, has a capacity to cover hundreds of miles during the day and thousands of miles during the night. It is unfortunate that we hear of Malin Head only at times of distress and tragedy. Surely we have had enough tragedies, particularly on the west coast. Deputy Conaghan referred to the Snekker Arctic and this was acknowledged by the French authorities at the time. The Malin Head radio is in constant touch with the lighthouse on Tory Island. It is responsible for the monitoring of all communications between ship and shore, for assisting weather forecasting, for gale warnings and for making urgent link calls from ship to shore. I found it necessary during the winter to make contact with Shannon Air Rescue who were most helpful, but at that time Malin Head had to confirm that there were problems on Tory Island. One must give credit to the British who were prepared to fly into Tory that night but we have never established why it has not happened.

Up to seven or eight weeks ago a satisfactory arrangement existed. There was cover at all times for sickness and holiday periods for the staff there. Up to very recently there was a normal complement of 11 men, nine experienced and two inexperienced. With one experienced and one inexperienced on duty, if the experienced person became sick and had to go home he was not covered. I understand that very recently an experienced radio officer went off and the station was left to be manned by a qualified but inexperienced radio officer. Only as a result of pressure from public representatives in that area have the Government conceded to cover sickness. Maybe the Minister will elaborate on whether he will cover the holiday periods.

We are not looking for bouquets. All we want is to ensure that the service we have been accustomed to over the years will continue to be provided. If there are to be cutbacks in any Department let there be no cutbacks in regard to safety at sea. I suggest that the Minister visit Malin Head or send his Minister of State there to speak with these people and ensure that this problem is resolved immediately. I understand that there were representations even from Scottish authorities and radio stations in Scotland who realised the problems that could confront us as a result of these unnecessary cutbacks.

I want to refer to the VHF equipment which has been lying at Malin Head for over three years and to which Deputy Conaghan referred. We have not the money to purchase a site in west or south-west Donegal to erect that equipment. In short, Malin Head is vital for the safety of fishermen. The Minister must provide the finance to ensure that we continue with the excellent service which we have been accustomed to over the years. The outcry would have been much greater if the public had been fully aware of the position. We hope that they will not be made fully aware of it as a result of tragedy. One must ask if the Department of Communications and the Minister for Communications put a price on human life. I tell the Minister that we must resolve this problem before it is too late.

Minister for Communications (Mr. J. Mitchell)

It is regrettable that Deputies should come into this House and try emotionally to "hype up" the rightful economy into issues of safety and questions of dangers to life, etc. I assure this House that I am absolutely satisfied that our marine radio services are fully, safe and adequately manned. We have had the experience of Deputies opposite in the Fianna Fáil Party and some others coming in here day in and day out criticising every economy and every saving brought about in order to reduce the budget deficit and taxation. In the next breath they criticise the Government for not cutting the deficit more and not cutting taxation more.

Mr. Conaghan

We are talking about peanuts in this case.

Mr. J. Mitchell

There is no credibility in the statements from the Opposition. They will do a three card trick with the economy and all its aspects. They will cut taxes, the budget deficit and increase public expenditure——

(Interruptions.)

Mr. J. Mitchell

They are living in cloud cuckooland and dishonestly misleading their constituents.

Mr. P. Gallagher

The Minister should get out of Dublin occasionally.

Mr. J. Mitchell

I am sorry I am vexing the Deputies opposite. Their constant interruptions are a sure sign of the weakness of their case. I make no bones about the fact that we have put extra staff into Malin Head radio station. Are they arguing against creating more jobs?

Mr. P. Gallagher

Big deal; get on with the job.

Mr. J. Mitchell

Are they quibbling with that? Is that not the right approach?

(Interruptions.)

Mr. J. Mitchell

Is it any wonder that, during the last term of the office of Fianna Fáil, unemployment rose by 40,000, the highest ever?

(Interruptions.)

Mr. J. Mitchell

The extra staff which I sent into Malin Head are qualified radio operators from Ballygireen and will require a very short period of on site training. The operators' room and the officers' living accommodation have been improved over the last 12 months. One remote VHF coastal station is already in operation in Donegal. A further extension of the system is under examination and the improvements will continue in future.

I do not believe that I should spend much time on this clear politicking and opportunism on the part of the Deputies opposite, which is totally insincere. Overtime in my Department is allocated solely on the basis of operational need and not on receipts from particular radio stations.

Mr. Conaghan

Did the Minister check the overtime in Malin Head station?

Mr. J. Mitchell

I wish to repeat that the radio stations around the coast are adequately manned to deal with safety and there are adequate back-up measures in the case of failure of staff to turn up, and so on, and as long as I am Minister the position will remain the same.

The Dáil adjourned at 8.55 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 16 April 1986.