The findings of the Court of Inquiry regarding the sinking of the trawler off the Isle of Arran have serious implications for the Irish fishing fleet operating out of Irish ports and working fishing grounds in the Irish Sea. There is now an urgent need for the Government, in particular the Ministers for the Marine and Foreign Affairs, to demand that all underwater exercises in the Irish Sea by whatever navy, be it the United States, Britain or the Soviet Union, cease forthwith.
The Irish Sea has been a victim of the nuclear arms race at sea and the Labour Party hope that with the nuclear disarmament proposals now on the international agenda nuclear submarines in our seas will be a thing of the past. There have been too many indicents, too many near misses and too many lives have been lost. Irish fishermen going about their lawful pursuits of making a living are in serious danger due to the cavalier attitude of naval forces using these busy fishing grounds.
There is no reason these exercises by nuclear submarines should not take place in the Atlantic where there is no congestion of fishing boats or busy cross channel traffic. The Labour Party believe that all nuclear submarines should not be allowed access to the Irish Sea. However, the use of the Irish Sea has been well chronicled in other places. As a safeguard, the Labour Party propose that the Minister for the Marine, through the International Maritime Organisation, should demand that all submarines travelling in the Irish Sea must travel on the surface. Second, all submarine movements should be notified to all other vessels operating on this stretch of sea.
These are only a few precautions and must not be seen as solutions but a streamlining of the notification procedures which could save lives, Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh lives. The Labour Party demand that the Irish Sea be given back to civilians and closed to war games. The fishing community in carrying out their daily task already face insurmountable difficulties. Why should they be subjected to this further danger and fear of being snagged by underwater craft? It would appear that the incident which cost the lives of four fishermen was treated with contempt at the time by those in command of the nuclear submarine, HMS Trenchant and the findings by the sheriff in the inquiry are a damning indictment of the naval command structure at present operated by the British Government.
Protests have been made before, obviously without success. The findings of the court of inquiry proved this. There is now an urgent need for stronger action and this matter must be discussed and acted on at European and United Nations level. Irish people must be protected when going about their lawful duties in Irish and international waters. It would appear that naval forces using the Irish Sea are a law unto themselves and the reluctance of the British Navy in this instance to come to the aid of the fishermen must be condemned. The fact that these unfortunate fishermen were not Irish nationals is of no consequence in the circumstances. I ask the Minister to indicate the steps he proposes to take to see that the incidents once and for all come to an end.
