MINISTER FOR Defence Willie O’Dea will make a decision by the end of the week on whether the national sail training vessel Asgard II will be salvaged, following its sinking off the northwest coast of France last year.

Mr O’Dea told the Dáil that the board of the Coiste an Asgard met yesterday and he expected a recommendation within a day or two “as to whether to proceed with a salvage operation. I will then make a decision on the matter immediately.”

Fine Gael defence spokesman Jimmy Deenihan said it was more than five months since the vessel sank and there had been two surveys. “The Minister must have been able to act and make up his mind on whether it was salvageable or not after the first survey.

“How many surveys do you need? In the meantime, we have lost a number of weather windows when a salvage operation could have been carried out.” He added that the Minister “should be leading” on the issue.

However, Mr O’Dea said that “you don’t have a dog and bark yourself”. He said he gets advice from the board.