Issues Affecting the Irish Naval Service

In the Dáil this afternoon, speaking in relation to various issues affecting the Irish Naval Service –
  • Our search and rescue capability – We should have nine naval ships at sea, but we only have seven. Two are at anchor in the port in Cork as we do not have the sailors to man them.
  • Our search and recovery capability – I spoke about the wonderful people in the Naval Service dive team. There should be 30 members of the dive team but, unfortunately, only six remain. That has massive knock-on effects for the fishing community as well.
  • Raised concerns about law and order
  • Fisheries protection