Madam, – The McCarthy report is a comprehensive document, full of important proposals to save the nation from imminent financial ruin. However, there is one of many smaller elements which have escaped much public comment, which I feel needs to be challenged. This is the report's proposal for the Government to postpone plans to build a replacement for the Asgard IInational sail training vessel (which sank off the French coast last September 11th), in order to make a one-off saving of €3.8 million.
It was bad enough that Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea failed to see the value in raising this vessel, which may only have sunk because of a single sprung timber, which would be easily repaired once she were salvaged.
It is also being proposed that the national sail training schemes fundraising and organising committee, Coiste an Asgard, which supported the vessel, would also be abandoned. Much is being made of the negative effects that cuts to the arts and culture sectors will have on what is termed the enhancement of Ireland’s image and its status as a country of the imagination. I would like to believe that the character-building experience enjoyed by the thousands of Ireland’s youth who acted as our ambassadors when Asgard II toured abroad over the past 30 years would not be so easily lost.
A fleet of the world’s finest tall ships will make their landfall in Ireland in Belfast this month. The one pity is that Asgard II will not now be among them. It seems, she, or her successor will never in future have that opportunity. Pity! – Yours, etc,