Minister of State for the Marine Pat "the Cope" Gallagher expressed his disappointment at the failure to find the body of missing Wexford skipper Pat Colfer on board his vessel, the Rising Sun, yesterday.
Extending his sympathies to the Colfer family, Mr Gallagher acknowledged that the last 10 weeks had been a difficult period for them.
It was at his behest that the Coast Guard commissioned the salvage of the eight-metre vessel from 52 metres of water after a direct appeal by the Colfer family. The Coast Guard is now under the responsibility of the Department of Transport.
Chairman of Bord Iascaigh Mhara Hugh Byrne, a former Wexford junior marine minister, also expressed his condolences to the families of all three men who died after the boat sank on November 29th off the Saltee islands.
Mr Gallagher and Mr Byrne were commenting at the opening in Dún Laoghaire of a new mobile training classroom for BIM. The unit is part of an initiative to deliver mandatory safety training to more than 4,000 fishing and fish-farming personnel.
The Marine Casualty Investigation Board said it would be examining the Rising Sun's hull thoroughly as part of its inquiry into the sinking.
A delay in picking up an accurate signal from the emergency position-indicating radio beacon, and the failure to deploy the liferaft, are key factors in the official investigation.