The Minister of State at the Department of the Marine, Mr Hugh Byrne, has publicly disagreed with his senior colleague, Dr Woods, over the finding of the Department's investigation into the Irish/French fishing vessel collision in 1992 which claimed two south-east fishermen's lives.
Mr Byrne has said he is "very disappointed" with the report, which was released several days ago. The Minister of State, who was involved in the case as a Wexford TD when in opposition, said that on the basis of the evidence in his possession he was not at all happy with the conclusion.
The Department of the Marine report on the collision between the Irish vessel Orchidee and the French vessel Agena, off the Welsh coast in September 1992, found both vessels at fault, although a French court had identified the French vessel as being in the wrong.
Two French crewmen were given suspended sentences for negligence, over the sinking of the vessel and the deaths of Mr Jimmy Power, of Dunmore East, Co Waterford, and Mr Robert Doran, of Bridgetown, Co Wexford.
Yesterday Mr Byrne told Southeast Radio in Wexford that the verdict of the French court "said it all". He would have thought that the weight of evidence in his own Department's investigation would have come down heavily against the French vessel.
Mr Byrne said he had been very involved in the case over seven years, and one of the most difficult tasks had been trying to get it into the French court. The evidence of Mrs Tracey Power also highlighted that her husband was a skipper who took great pride in his ship. The report had said that the Irish vessel had inappropriate lighting for the situation it was in, lying to after a day's fishing.
Mr Gerard Doran, the father of one of the two Irish fishermen who died, has dismissed the Department's report as "pathetic" and "a whitewash". He has demanded to know why the investigator did not examine the wreckage of the Irish vessel.
Dr Woods has stressed that it was not the role of the report to apportion blame. He has apologised for the delay in issuing it.
