Tory Island ferry contract
Deputy Doherty criticised the age of the ferry serving Tory Island and sought assurances for local families. The Taoiseach explained the open tender process, said the new contract begins in April, and noted the vessel must satisfy Marine Survey Office safety certification, despite interruptions from Deputy McGrath.
There is a commitment in the programme for Government that the Government wants to have thriving communities in urban and rural Ireland. For one rural community that had to make the long journey from the farthest offshore inhabited island in the State, Tory Island, to the gates of Leinster House, that commitment does not ring loudly because of a Government decision to provide a ferry service using a vessel that is 42 years old. That community is now under attack from a Government that is supposed to be caring for and nurturing it. What will the Taoiseach say to the six families who are saying they will leave the island if that is the ferry service that will be provided for them on 1 April? What will he say to the mothers and the fathers who say it will not be safe to take their children out to the island on this service? How will he ensure we will have a fit-for-purpose service serving that community? Will he meet the islanders who have made their way from Tory Island to Leinster House to speak to politicians? Will he make available five or ten minutes of his time today to meet them to listen to their genuine concerns?
Comment on this
Unfortunately, I will be unable to meet them today. As the Deputy is aware, I will be in the Chamber for the next number of hours, after which I have appointments that were made six and seven weeks ago which I cannot cancel. I am informed by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht that it ran an open tender competition for the service in accordance with public procurement rules. Two tenders were received and evaluated and the contract was awarded to Réalt na Maidne Teoranta using its vessel MV Queen of Aran. The new contract is to begin in April.
The Department has had extensive engagement with the island representatives and is happy to continue that engagement as part of its ongoing commitment to support island communities. The island community is not happy with the proposed vessel and has requested that it be a condition of the new contract that the duration of the journey should be no longer than 30 minutes. While this vessel is older than the one currently used, it is undergoing a full refit-----
Comment on this
-----in consultation with the Marine Survey Office which has statutory responsibility for the safety of passenger vessels in Ireland. The Department has no reason to believe that the vessel-----