Sir, – In France there is a law that makes it an offence not to assist people in danger (La non-assistance à personne en danger).
At sea, providing the location of a vessel that is at risk is fundamental to increasing the odds in favour of the success of the rescue effort.
It seems that the provision in the recent European Parliament resolution on search and rescue in the Mediterranean, to provide the location of vessels at risk, was included only because it was not contained in the legal codes of all member states. That this is so is a shame.
That Fine Gael MEPs of standing, such as Mairead McGuinness and Frances Fitzgerald, should vote down this proposal on the grounds that "they were told" that broadcasting the location of vessels in difficulty would in some way assist people smugglers, is outrageous. When one hears the phrase "we were told", one can be sure that the politicians concerned simply did not take the trouble to understand what they were voting for (Harry McGee,Home News, October 25th). – Yours, etc,
SEAMUS McKENNA,
Dublin 14.