New rules are being introduced to force every small fishing boat to be fitted with special radio locator beacons.
In an attempt to save lives and improve safety, skippers will be ordered to have electronic devices to alert search and rescue teams to their position in the event of an accident.
Some 800,000 euro is being made available over the next three years to pay for the scheme.
The plan is part of new regulations and initiatives announced by Leo Varadkar, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and Simon Coveney, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in Union Hall, Cork where five men died in a fishing disaster last year.
“I firmly believe we can and must do more to prevent tragedies such as those we have seen in the recent past,” Mr Varadkar said…..
Irish Independent 08/07/2013 Read the article ‘Fishing boats to be fitted with radio beacons’
