Iarraim ar gach páirtí na srianta ama a thabhairt dá n-aire.

Mar Theachta Dála atá i mo chónaí in aice leis an bhfarraige, tá aithne agam go pearsanta, agus beidh ag Teachtaí eile chomh maith, ar na mná agus fir chróga atá mar pháirt den gharda cósta agus a chuireann iad féin i mbaol go minic ar mhaithe le sláinte agus sábháilte daoine eile atá i dtrioblóid ar an bhfarraige. Ar an drochuair, tá amanna ann nuair a bhíonn baol agus dainséir na farraige móire róláidir. Ní thugtar buíochas ná ómós d'fhoireann an gharda cósta minic go leor ach conas nach féidir fearg a bheith ort agus tú ag léamh an dóigh ina gcaitheadh le teaghlaigh fhoirne Rescue 166 agus iad fágtha le costais dlí mar gur throid Roinn an Aire ina n-éadan ag an bhfiosrúchán. Tá sé náireach agus caithfidh an tAire é a cheartú.

On 14 March 2017, Dara Fitzpatrick, Mark Duffy, Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith, four members of the Irish Coast Guard, tragically lost their lives in the line of duty while supporting a rescue mission off the coast of Mayo. Its accident investigation unit was drawn in to carry out an investigation into what had happened and the publication of that report is still pending four years later. As the Minister stated in response to parliamentary questions here previously, the delay in the publication of that report is the result of the establishment of a review of that investigation, which we understand has been carried out at the behest of the helicopter operator, CHC Ireland.

The Minister appointed that review board. In order to have their interests represented, the families of those who tragically lost their lives quite understandably hired legal representatives to represent them at the board because they feared there would be an effort to assign blame for the accident to their loved ones. Their legal bills are now mounting, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of euro, because the Minister's officials in the Department of Transport fought against them successfully to ensure their legal costs were not awarded to them. This is scandalous.

RTÉ reported yesterday that the chairperson of the review board, Patrick McCann, has acknowledged the contribution made by the families' legal representatives at the review. It reported he had acknowledged that the families had little choice but to have legal representation given the highly technical nature of the proceedings. Despite the chairperson and sole member of that review team saying that, the Minister's officials took the most callous approach in dealing with this issue and fought the families at the review board. How on earth can the Minister's officials argue against the awarding of legal costs to these families and why did he allow that to happen? Why did he not intervene? It is an horrendous way to treat these families of four people who died in the line of duty, trying to save others.

I have one simple question for the Minister. Will he reverse this decision and ensure the families involved are awarded their legal costs in respect of their representation at the review board?

Our thoughts on this whole issue go to the families of those people who tragically lost their lives while doing the great public service of putting themselves in danger on others' behalf. It is absolutely in all our interest that the families are not put into any further difficulty or stress to add to the tragedy they have had to cope with. It would be scandalous if we were fighting against the paying of such costs but that is not true. I am confident that following the completion of the review group's work, and what I expect to be the imminent publication of the full report from the Chief Inspector of Air Accidents, that will be resolved quickly.

More critically, we will also look to learn the lessons contained in those reports so that the families of other people in our air rescue system will have confidence that we learn lessons, that we recognise the critical work they continue to do day in, day out and that we minimise the risks they take. How the State manages the issue of costs is always a complicated system but there will be no attempt by the State not to look after the families. We will ensure the issue of legal costs is resolved quickly. I have asked my officials to engage immediately with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to ensure we make that possible. I have also engaged with the Minister at that Department, Deputy Michael McGrath, and he is of a similar view. The matter will be resolved quickly. It should not in any way distract from the core issue here, namely, recognising the great loss of loved ones that those families suffered. Looking at why it happened and what we can do to ensure it does not happen again has to be the centre of our attention, rather than the legal costs. That will not be an issue in the coming days and will be resolved quickly.

I am glad to hear there is a change of tune but it should never have got to this point. The Minister said what I said was not true.

Did the Department oppose the applications by the families' teams to the review board to have their costs covered? The review team made a determination on this. In part of its determination it said: "... it would have been difficult if not impossible for the Commander's family to represent its own interest and the late Commander's interests without legal representation". Members of the families talk about their hurt and being dragged into a process which is not of their making as it was the helicopter company that brought the review and say that the Department strongly objected to the costs being covered. Will the Minister reiterate, in clear terms, that the costs of the families of the four people who lost lives in the line of duty will be covered by the State and that it is a burden and a worry about which they no longer have to worry?

My Department has not strenuously fought against the payment of such costs. We received the review report on 1 October. We had to check its contents with the Office of the Attorney General to ensure we were able to pass the report to the stakeholders, including the families. As soon as I was given the all-clear for that from the Attorney General's office, which I believe was on 14 October, we signed off the next day and made sure that the report went to all the stakeholders, including the families. The original investigation report is not subject to direct control from the Department as it is an independent procedure, but I expect that now will be allowed to be shared with the stakeholders in a similar way. The issue of costs were addressed in that report and at no stage did the Department strenuously fight against that.

Did the Department object to the application?

No. As I said, I have already engaged with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to make sure that we can engage with the families and ensure that this issue is not something to add to the terrible hurt that they have experienced in this affair.