Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur faoi reachtaíocht atá geallta. The Government yesterday committed to introducing legislation to provide for mandatory personal locator beacons on small fishing boats. I very much welcome that initiative. There have been too many tragedies, with 55 fishermen dying in the past five years. The Taoiseach is very much aware that fishermen are finding it harder and harder to make a living and, therefore, the best protections are needed. Will he update the House on the progress of this legislation? Will he also ensure the personal locator beacons for small vessels will be fully funded by the Department?

This arose following the tragedy last year in Union Hall, County Cork. The Ministers for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Transport, Tourism and Sport attended the launch. There have been sophisticated digital communications developments in this field. If fishermen carry the device on their life jackets and, unfortunately or tragically, end up in the water, the beacon will go off. The same applies to the locator for the vessel. These developments have progressed greatly in the past few years. Both Ministers outlined work, training and funding programmes, with 60% for smaller boats and 40% for larger boats. Clearly, the requirement for fishermen to engage in training on a five yearly basis speaks for itself. We all recall the most recent tragedy involving the Bolger family off the Waterford coast. It is hoped yesterday's launch on a beautiful day in Union Hall, poignant though it was, which was different from the occasion on which the tragedy occurred, will lead to lives being saved. As these developments improve, they are becoming seriously sophisticated in terms of GPS location. I hope the programme to have them used well will save lives and bring a sense of comfort to families. Unfortunately, tragedies like this happen and people are lost overboard. The work programme is set out and will be followed through in detail.

I very much welcome this initiative but my question was whether the Government would consider funding in full the cost of such beacons for smaller vessels. The Taoiseach is bound to know fisherfolk-----

Unfortunately, that is not really a question for the Order of Business but for a parliamentary question.

The priority is smaller boats, on which the vast majority of such accidents occur. The current funding element is 60% for smaller boats and 40% for bigger ones. Depending on economic circumstances, we will see what the take-up is and the matter can then be examined. The Minister is clearly prioritising smaller boats, where most of these unfortunate accidents occur.