Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 27 Apr 1999

Vol. 503 No. 6

Adjournment Debate. - Fisheries Protection.

Mr. O'Malley

I am grateful to the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise the refusal of the Southern Fisheries Board and the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources to pay the wages of or otherwise compensate a fisheries officer, Mr. Michael Hickey, who was assaulted and seriously injured in the course of his duties trying to enforce the fisheries law at sea off County Waterford on 28 July 1993. The assault on Mr. Hickey was a grievous one. He was fortunate not to have been killed and his injuries proved so bad that he has not been able to work since, notwithstanding the passage of almost six years. Two individuals were convicted of this assault and sentenced to terms of imprisonment; they were believed to have been associated with the IRA.

Among others, Mr. Hickey made complaints to the Minister for the Marine and the Garda about corrupt practices in the board and among some of its officials. The first such complaint was made by the then chairman of the board to the then Minister for the Marine as far back as December 1987. These complaints were ignored by successive Ministers and by the Department until matters came to a head at the end of 1995 and legislation was introduced to replace the board for most purposes with a commissioner. A second Act subsequently had to be passed for the same purpose.

The manager of the board was suspended and then dismissed but approximately 12 months later he was brought back and allowed to retire with a gratuity and pension. Two inspectors of the board were charged with a variety of offences relating to corruption and were returned for trial. Although the State withdrew most of the charges and the men were not convicted, they were nonetheless dismissed by the commissioner for what was euphemistically called "breaches of the board's code of conduct". The three officers were paid their full wages up to the time of their dismissal, although it was clear from their dismissals that they had been guilty of serious misconduct.

On the other hand, Mr. Hickey, who was the principal whistleblower in this entire affair, and who clearly was guilty of no greater crime than doing his duty and trying to enforce the fisheries law, has been penalised appallingly because after almost six years the board still refuses to pay his wages or otherwise compensate him. He is now in receipt of £111 per week social welfare and £39 per week from the board. His gross wages if he were working would be well over £300 per week. If he were a Garda or prison officer he would have received generous treatment years ago.

The board's refusal to pay him, while for years it paid three officials who were subsequently dismissed even while they were suspended, is an appalling injustice and is typical of the grossly unfair attitude of Irish officialdom to a whistleblower. What kind of example are the Minister and his Department giving when they penalise those who try to enforce and respect the law and reward those who break it? I invite the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources to tell me the basis on which he justifies this action by himself and his Department and continues to do so after almost six years. I hope the Minister in his reply will deal with the points I raised rather than just using a script prepared in advance.

Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources (Dr. Woods)

I welcome this opportunity to update the Deputy and the House on the situation of the fisheries officer in question, who is an employee of the Southern Fisheries Board and remains on sick leave following an appalling assault in the course of his duties in 1993. I should clarify that the Southern Regional Fisheries Commission was appointed in 1996 to take over the protection, conservation and management of functions of the southern board. This step was taken under the provisions of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1995, and on foot of a report to the Minister which advised that the affairs of the southern board were not being managed in an effective manner.

For the past three years, the commission has been working to systematically tackle and resolve the acknowledged serious difficulties, notably of a staffing nature, in the southern board. The Deputy will be aware that considerable progress has been made in that time by the commission to address with due process the key problems in the organisation.

Among the key priorities of the commission in this context has been to pursue all the available options to bring about a fair resolution of the circumstances of the fisheries officer in question, Mr. Michael Hickey. I am aware that the Deputy is familiar with the background to this matter. Mr. Hickey suffered very serious injuries when assaulted in the course of a seagoing salmon protection patrol off Helvick Head in 1993. As a result of these injuries, he has been unable to return to work and remains on sick leave and half pay. The circumstances in which he sustained his injuries, and for which there were subsequent convictions in court, reflected a state of serious and bitter opposition to salmon fishing regulations throughout the 1980s and into the current decade in the southern fisheries region.

I am aware of the Deputy's long standing committed concern to ensure that Michael Hickey gets fair play. I assure him that I share his concerns and have the utmost sympathy for Mr. Hickey in the ordeal he suffered as an officer of the State. I also assure the Deputy that the Southern Regional Fisheries Commission and my Department have been, and continue to be, actively engaged in arriving at a solution to meet the exceptional circumstances of his case.

In light of the concerns expressed by the Deputy, it is important to put on record what has been put in place to date to assist Mr. Hickey. Mr. Hickey is an employee of the regional fisheries board and not of my Department. However, my Department has supported and continues to support all efforts to assist Mr. Hickey in recognition of the exceptional circumstances over and above the standard entitlements for regional fisheries board staff. For the first six months after the assault Mr. Hickey remained on full pay in accordance with the staff scheme in place in all regional boards. Full pay was extended as an exceptional measure in his case for a further seven months, after which he was placed on half pay. Under the staff scheme half pay would normally cease after a further six months. However, again in recognition of the his exceptional circumstances, Mr. Hickey remains on half pay.

In addition, a number of special provisions have been made for Mr. Hickey in the intervening years. An ex gratia payment of £5,000 was made to him in November 1995 and he received refunds from the board's compensation scheme for his hospital costs as a public patient. Mr. Hickey still acts as a union representative in the board and the commission continues to contribute to his telephone bills and to pay for his travel and subsistence costs when on union business.

As the Deputy is aware, extensive discussions have continued between Mr. Hickey and the commission on his future in light of successive medical reports. In the event of retirement on medical grounds, Mr. Hickey would in the normal course receive a mix of lump sum, pension and social welfare entitlements under the terms of the superannuation scheme for fisheries board staff. The commission has, in addition, been working assiduously, in consultation with my Department, to investigate and structure a proposal which would reflect and acknowledge the very exceptional circumstances of Mr. Hickey's case. The commission has been in ongoing contact with him during this process and has put on record its appreciation of the high level of commitment he had given throughout his service with the regional fisheries board.

The commission has advised and my Department confirms that proposals are being actively and intensively progressed with legal advisers and the Department of Finance. All concerned are anxious to bring the matter to finality as quickly as possible in the interests first and foremost of Mr. Hickey. I assure the Deputy that there will be no let up by the commission or my Department in the effort to arrive at an acceptable outcome. I will ensure that the Deputy is kept fully briefed on development in the coming weeks. This matter is progressing rapidly.