Senator Gerard Craughwell- speech from 2 Nov 2021

Leader, a couple of weeks ago here I spoke about the crisis in the Coast Guard. Some days after that I attended the meeting of the inaugural meeting of the Irish Volunteer Coast Guards Representative Association down in Kilquay and I have to say that things have deteriorated to a point where maybe this evening we will have no volunteers in Doolan and County Clare. It looks very much like we will have no Coast Guard volunteers right along the west coast from Clare to Kerry at the rate things are going. There have been a number of damning reports into the Coast Guard through the Comptroller and Auditor General, particularly in relation to the procurement of night vision for a private company paid for by the taxpayer in the helicopter service. The procurement of vehicles for the Coast Guard service for towing the ribs out to sea or for bringing rescue equipment to cliffs and whatever. And the vehicles that were purchased are totally unsuitable. And one of the questions that I need to raise with the Coast Guard straight away is how many tractors have we bought? Because I understand they've had to buy tractors to drag the equipment out to sea. Now, we're in a situation where the Coast Guard service is largely voluntary. The allegations that are being made, and they are allegations at this stage, is that there is severe bullying and harassment going on within the service. The allegations are that if you raise an issue of concern, that you will be greeted with a thank you for your interest and for your concern. And some days later, a senior officer will arrive at your house and tell you your services are no longer required. This is dividing communities. Most of us here come from rural Ireland, and we know how closely knit communities are. And in particular, coastal communities are extremely closely knit. And where you get an organisation that's starting to split down the middle, there's the insiders and the outsiders, and it is dividing coastal communities. It is really, really serious. And why am I bringing it up today? Certainly the Transport and Communications Committee will look at this. But I think the Minister must act immediately in order to save the service. There will not be a service at the rate things are going in a couple of weeks' time. And this is really frightening for the people in western coastal areas who depend on this service. We have lots of cliffs and some very dangerous seas. Now, one of the things that came to light when we attended that meeting was a couple of weeks before Katharina Lucas lost her life in West Clare. The Coast Guard was warned that the way things were going, the next time you visit here, it'll be for a funeral. And sure enough, a few weeks later, it was a funeral. Now, I really think that, first and foremost, we have to commend our volunteers who give up their time, all of the time, to deliver these services. But if there is a problem there, it needs to be rooted out straight away from the top down. So, I would ask you to, on behalf of the Oireachtas, on behalf of the Shannad, to write to the Minister and ask him, I've written to him today, and ask him to immediately instigate an investigation. Thank you very much. Finally, Laskar, here, look, the North West Technological University has been my own. It's already been well. I'd like to welcome it too. Delighted to see Castlebar, my mother's town, getting a university status. And, of course, Galway, I represented all of those colleges once, so I'm delighted. There was always an intellectual and academic ambience there, anyway.