Family welcomes positive signs at Lost at Sea hearing

A FAMILY thrown into the middle of a political battle has welcomed signs the Government may back down and pay them compensation for rejecting their original claim under the Lost at Sea scheme.

Danny Byrne, whose father and brother drowned at sea in 1981, was speaking after the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee finally heard Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly’s stinging criticism of the Lost at Sea scheme.

He said comments by TDs linked to Fianna Fáil signalled the Government might revisit the scheme.

He was especially pleased with Fianna Fáil TD Jim McDaid who said the family should be compensated.

The Byrnes had appealed to the Ombudsman because they felt the scheme, which only compensated six families, wrongly rejected them.

She subsequently found the scheme was unfair. But her recommendation that the Byrnes get €254,570 in compensation has been rejected by the Government and the Department of Agriculture.

Ms O’Reilly said there is no evidence to support Government claims that paying compensation tothe family would lead to a flood of claims.

The Government threw out Ms O’Reilly’s recommendation that the widow of Francis Byrne be awarded compensation following the family’s exclusion from the scheme for those who had lost trawlers at sea.

Ms O’Reilly had ordered that €245,570 compensation be paid to the family ofMr Byrne after he died along with his 16-year-old son, Jimmy, and three other crew after the family’s fishing boat, the Skifjord, sank off Donegal in 1981.

The family applied for financial aid under the Government’s controversial Lostat Sea scheme to assist fishermen who lost fishing boats between 1980 and 1989. It was brought in by Fianna Fáil TD Frank Fahey, but has been shrouded in controversy since 75% of the €2m fund went to two of his Galway constituents.

Lost at Sea only actively took in applications for six months in 2001.

The Byrnes’ application was rejected by the Department of Agriculture and it isbelieved senior civil servants were concerned about the number of claims the scheme would lead to.

Ms O’Reilly said the Byrnes’ case had been treated unfairly because somepeople, who officials believed wanted to apply, were contacted, while others whose files were “in deep storage” were not informed. She said the Byrne family’s application was rejected by officials on two grounds: because it was late and because Mr Byrne had been using a replacement boat that had been in operation for just three months before it sank.

The Ombudsman told the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee: “It wasn’t the Byrne family’s fault that they didn’t see the scheme because they didn’t get the sort of favoured treatment that other people get.”

She added: “It is my belief that if the Government wanted everybody to knowabout this they would have advertised more widely. It seems to me that this wasrestrictive advertising.”

Ms O’Reilly said this attitude had forced an unwelcome political battle. She said she took the unorthodox step of laying a special report on the issue directly before the Oireachtas because the status of her office was in danger.

The subsequent debate had been framed by Fianna Fáil TDs because their colleague, former minister Frank Fahey, was heavily involved in the establishment of the scheme.

“I will tell you candidly that I always recognised that this matter might break down on party political lines, but I felt duty-bound to try and get a fair hearing for the Byrne family.”

Ms O’Reilly’s report instigated weeks of clashes between the opposition and the Government until the committee agreed to invite in the Ombudsman.

It will also hear Mr Fahey and departmental officials.

However, former minister Dr McDaid suggested members of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party had reservations about the scheme. He broke rank and said the Ombudsman’s recommendations should be acted on.