A Long Way From Cape Clear To Here
I'm converting the official investigation report into a more accessible format for the benefit of our friends in Co Cork and anyone else who wishes to read it.
In the meantime, here's part of an item from the News Letter that has been published in emara News - with associated editorial comment:
News Letter, December 10: Company corrects online euro gaffeWe understand that one of the major reasons that the D.R.D. was thought to have been considered to have behaved reasonably in awarding the contract to the present operator is that it took up “references”, as it were, from the D.C.R.G.A., which expressed the opinion that the operator was on “par” with the other operators to the other islands of the Republic. This was taken as an endorsement of the operator.
If the D.C.R.G.A. genuinely believed this, which I can only presume it did, having applied penalties for breaches of contract on three occasions, seen crew numbers reduced, maintenance standards fall, several deadlines be missed for the introduction of a new standby boat and been receiving numerous complaints from Cape Clear residents – even if it does seem to be of the opinion that islanders are a class of person peculiarly given to unjustified carping and with little knowledge of the sea the weather and boats, and which can never be satisfied – does it feel that its opinion is still justified? If it does, presumably the other operators around the coast are quite a bunch of cheese-paring chancers who care little for their customers from the islands, or they will be feeling very insulted by the standard they are being told they are equal to. Personally I’ve seen little evidence of low standards elsewhere, but then I probably wouldn’t be able to make a reasonable judgment having my mind influenced by 29 years of living on an atlantic island!
Editor - emara News
