Clare TD to continue push for public inquiry into death of Coast Guard's Caitriona Lucas

A verdict of death by misadventure was returned at the end of the inquest into Caitriona Lucas' death in November. File picture: Facebook

A Clare TD is pushing for a public inquiry into the death of Irish Coast Guard volunteer Caitriona Lucas in 2016.

A verdict of death by misadventure was returned at the end of the inquest into her death in November. Now, independent Clare TD Michael McNamara says he will be pushing for a public inquiry, following a letter from the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan last month.

The letter was written after Minister Ryan was requested by the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, to respond to a question in the Dáil from Mr McNamara seeking a public inquiry into the death of the 41-year-old mother of two.

She died after the Kilkee Coast Guard Delta rigid inflatable boat (RIB) she was on capsized during a search for a missing man on September 12, 2016. She was the first Irish Coast Guard volunteer to lose her life during a mission.

While the letter to Mr McNamara outlined that a working group has been set up within the Department of Transport to oversee the implementation of recommendations issued by the jury at the inquest, no reference is made to a public inquiry.

The letter highlighted that investigations had been carried out by the Health and Safety Authority and the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, and that the findings of the inquest “are fully accepted”.

However, Mr McNamara said he will be meeting with the Lucas family shortly and he intends to keep pushing for an inquiry.

The working group set up within the Irish Coast Guard will “drive the implementation and tracking of the recommendations”, according to Minister Ryan.

The recommendations include:

• Each Coast Guard station should take appropriate steps to ensure Irish Coast Guard volunteers are aware of relevant exclusions for Coast Guard vessels, and where possible, display same clearly at the base station;
• An immediate ongoing review of training of Coast Guard volunteers/staff should provide up-to-date training for capsize incidents;
• An ongoing review should take place of suitability of all safety gear, including helmets, to ensure safety in operational conditions;
• There should be “urgent” implementation/education of all lessons learned and recommendations of all reviews into Coast Guard incidents;
• Measures should be taken to ensure that all Coast Guard vessels are fitted with voyage data recorders;
• There should be establishment of an appropriate centralised safety management/portal for identified risk issues on a confidential basis;
• The Irish Coast Guard should consider ongoing training for the officer-in-charge (OIC) and deputy OIC “as appropriate” at units.