Barret fishing safety response attacked

THE Minister for Defence and the Marine, Mr Barrett, has been attacked for his response to fishing vessel safety and challenged to participate in an open televised debate with representatives in the industry.

The future of the Minister's new review group on fishing vessel safety is also in doubt, with a threatened withdrawal by industry representatives on both the north west and south west coasts. "Instead of giving us the political support to build new boats - and we are not talking about money - he wants to tie the existing fleet up altogether," Ms Caitlin Ui Aodha, of Helvick, Co Waterford, said yesterday. Ms Ui Aodha, who is married to a fisherman, was one of the first women to qualify for a skipper's ticket.

Such a debate would give the Minister an opportunity to refute the "gross distortions and misrepesentation of fact" for which he is responsible this week, Mr Andrew Ward, chairman of the Foyle Fishermen's Co operative, of Greencastle, Co Donegal, said yesterday.

Mr Ward was referring to the Minister's refusal on RTE's Prime Time this week to take part in a direct discussion, and his assertion that he had made safety a priority on taking office last May and was doing all he could.

"In the last 14 months, 25 fishermen have lost their lives," Mr Ward said. " For a Minister for the Marine to use such a programme as his own vehicle is unacceptable." Mr Ward was one of two industry representatives invited to participate in a discussion with the Minister on the programme on Tuesday night - two days after the last fishing industry - accident with the loss of three lives on the Jenalisa off Dunmore East, Co Waterford.

The second participant, Ms Ui Aodha, also confirmed that she was under this impression when she arrived in RTE's Waterford studio, having been at the removal of one of the three Dunmore East victims, Mr Conor O'Grady (22) However, the discussion with the Minister did not take place, and both parties were interviewed separately before Mr Barrett spoke.

A spokeswoman for the Minister said yesterday he was informed that he was being interviewed alone. A spokeswoman for RTE told The Irish Times that it had been hoped the Minister would participate in a debate. "Obviously there was a misunderstanding, the Minister was not willing to do this when he arrived, and we decided to accommodate him."

The Minister's fishing vessel safety review group was set up after the loss of six lives on the Greencastle, Co Donegal vessel, Carrickatine, in November, and held its first meeting in January. The then harbour master of the State's top fishing port, Killybegs Capt Philip McParlin, had broken his silence about warnings he had a series of marine Ministers on the alarming age profile of the Irish whitefish fleet.

The Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation chief executive, Mr Joey Murrin, also told The Irish Times at the time that he had written to previous ministers on the issue. Representing the bulk of the industry, the whitefish fleet has been unable to expand due to EU restrictions, while other EU member states have been replacing old tonnage with new vessels.

The review group's second meeting is due to take place tomorrow, but industry representatives were considering their position yesterday.