I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank the Cathaoirleach for giving me the opportunity to discuss this important issue. Fishermen being lost at sea is a major issue on the south-eastern and southern coast of Ireland, as it is across the entire country. We have lost many fishermen all around Ireland and I know many families personally who have been affected by this in the south east.
One only needs to consider the grief and sorrow left in the wake of tragedies such as the Tit Bonhomme, the Honey Dew II and others. More needs to be done to ensure the safety of our fishermen. It is clear that the first few hours are crucial in finding fishermen alive - or finding them at all - after they have gone overboard. If we are able to track them or find them via GPS in those first few crucial hours, many lives could be saved. Deputy Colreavy asked a parliamentary question on this matter in March. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport replied:
Currently all Irish registered fishing vessels are required to be fitted with Emergency Indicating Position Beacons (EPIRBs). All fishing vessels over 12 metres in length must carry an automatically activating float-free automatic EPIRB and vessels less than 12 metres LOA (length over all) only have to carry a manually operated EPIRB.
However, this is focused on the vessel rather than the individual and therefore does not assist in any significant way in locating those who have gone overboard.
The Minister indicated in March that officials from his Department were examining, in conjunction with Bord Iascaigh Mhara, issues relating to the carriage of personal locator beacons, PLBs, by fishermen as an enhancement to existing measures. He said they would be assessing the effectiveness of such electronic devices when used in conjunction with existing safety measures such as lifejackets and personal floatation devices. In the seven months since this was raised in the Dáil, what progress has been made on these PLB systems?
According to the Fishing Vessel (Personal Flotation Devices) Regulations 2001 every fishing vessel must carry a suitable personal flotation device for every person on board, and the personal flotation device must be worn at all times by the crew of the fishing vessel when on the exposed deck of the vessel, whether at sea, in harbour or coming to and from moorings.
A personal locator beacon, PLB, is a small transmitter that gives the position of the person but it is not as powerful as an EPIRB - the equipment for the boat itself. A PLB is often worn like a watch by divers. Surely it should not be too difficult for flotation devices, generally life jackets, to have PLB devices or some other form of similar system with a small device on the life jacket? The Government should take steps to ensure that this happens, as it would save lives. It would make it much easier for fishermen to be found in the first few hours. As the Minister of State will know it becomes extremely difficult to locate people or bodies after 24 hours. However, it is highly likely that they would be found within that time, and before they have sunk, and indeed could often be found within an hour or two.
These devices are not expensive and the Government could support their purchase. They can cost as little as €120 before VAT. Fishermen have argued that they could be exempt from VAT or that grant aid could be provided. The devices can fit into a pocket, or be worn around the neck or wrist. If fishermen had such devices on their person and if someone were to go overboard or the boat sank and the emergency crew got there within a couple of hours, they would be able to find the bodies. It would obviously assist in locating and saving the lives of people who have gone overboard. However, even when families experience the tragedy of the loss of a life, it can take days or weeks to locate the body - sometimes the body is never found. If modern devices can be used to improve the systems, then tragedies such as the recent one off the coast of Union Hall and others could be avoided.
What steps can the Department take to assist in this regard? We should use new advanced technology to improve the safety for fishermen. We should have the same types of safety measures in place for fishermen as we provide for passengers in cars and aeroplanes.
