Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

That is great.

I thank the Chair for inviting me here today to discuss the general scheme of the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Accidents) Bill and for his ongoing interest and input in the critical matter of marine accident investigation.

Marine safety and the promotion and enhancement of safety are key objectives and priorities of my Department that underscore many of its policies, strategies and actions. The general scheme builds on previous work regarding the legislative and structural framework that applies to marine accident investigation in Ireland following the findings of a judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union, CJEU. It provides for a transition from the current structure where the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, MCIB, is the designated investigative body to the establishment of a full-time, permanent marine accident investigation unit, MAIU, within the Department of Transport analogous to the air accident investigation unit, AAIU, and the railway accident investigation unit, RAIU.

I am also taking the opportunity to update the references to two conventions – the International Maritime Organization’s, IMO, safety of life at sea, SOLAS, convention and the International Labour Organization’s, ILO, Maritime Labour Convention – in existing legislation to enable more recent amendments to these conventions to be addressed in national secondary legislation. Additionally, Part 6 provides for regulation-making powers relating to the newer types of vessels being used in the offshore renewable energy sector and the carriage of industrial personnel on such vessels. This legislation is about enhancing our maritime safety regime, particularly in respect of marine accident investigation, but also future-proofing for increased demands and complexities arising from the development of the offshore renewable energy sector in particular.

The legislative provision for marine accident investigation in Ireland dates back to the Merchant Shipping Act 1894. There was then the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) Act 2000. The 2000 Act implemented the recommendations of the Investigation of marine casualties policy review group, namely, the establishment of the MCIB as an independent State body to investigate marine casualties and publish reports of such investigations. The report of the group to the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources was published in 1998. Later, the EU legislated in the area, focusing on larger, commercial vessels via a 2009 directive, which required the designation of a marine accident investigation body. The directive was transposed in 2011 and the MCIB became the designated body in Ireland. On foot of a finding arising from an audit carried out by the European Maritime Safety Agency, a judgment from the CJEU in July 2020 found that, due to presence of two departmental officials on the MCIB board who were seen as persons whose interests could conflict with the task entrusted to the MCIB, Ireland did not comply with the independence requirement of the directive. To be clear, there were no court findings of wrongdoing on the part of any members of the board or in respect any of the investigations carried out by the MCIB. The judgment related to the MCIB board membership and the potential for conflicts of interests to arise. Immediate steps were taken to address the judgment, including the resignation of the two board members concerned and the amendment of secondary legislation transposing the directive. Most recently, the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) (Amendment) Act 2022 facilitated a revised Board composition and the appointment of new members, lessening risks associated with reduced board membership in the medium-term following actions taken to address the judgment.

My Department has updated the EU Commission regarding all of these developments, including this general scheme. I am pleased to inform the committee that the infringement proceedings were officially closed off by the EU Commission in January of this year. As I informed the committee during our engagement on the previous merchant shipping Bill, following the judgment, I also took the opportunity to commission a fundamental review of Ireland’s marine casualty investigation structures in the context of international, European and domestic obligations. The review was undertaken by Clinchmaritime Ltd., headed by Captain Steve Clinch, a former chief inspector of marine accidents for the UK’s marine accident investigation branch. The final report of the review was received in July 2021. While on the advice of the Office of the Attorney General, it is not proposed to publish the report, all its six recommendations and two observations, as the key output of the review, have been published. The second recommendation that “the Minister for Transport should establish a functionally independent MAIU within the Department of Transport” and that “the reporting structure and staffing model should be in line with that already in place for the AAIU and RAIU”, form the basis for the provisions in the general scheme.

In March 2022, the Government approved policy proposals for the development of a revised legislative framework for the marine accident investigation structures based on the establishment of a full-time, permanent marine accident investigation unit and a draft general scheme was approved by Government in December 2022. The main focus of the proposals in the general scheme is to allow for the transition from the current marine accident investigation structure, the MCIB, to the establishment of the full-time MAIU. It must be reiterated that, as with the current work of the MCIB, the investigations and reports of the MAIU will not seek to apportion blame or determine liability; rather, maritime safety investigations have the objective of determining the circumstances and causes of marine accidents with a view to making recommendations for the avoidance of similar accidents in the future.

Part 1 of the general scheme contains generic provisions covering commencement, citation, interpretation, repeals and revocations.

Part 2 provides for the establishment of the MAIU and the recruitment of full-time investigators to carry out its work, including provisions related to the independence of investigators, which will be reviewed closely with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel as the technical drafting of the Bill progresses. The MAIU will publish an annual report covering its activities.

Part 3 largely replicates current provisions in the reporting of marine accidents and their subsequent investigation. There are also provisions relating to the contents, drafting and publication of investigation reports.

Part 4 contains provisions relating to offences and prosecutions. These relate solely to circumstances such as non-reporting of accidents, non-co-operation with investigations or the leaking of draft MAIU reports before publication.

Part 5 provides for the transition from the MCIB, and its eventual dissolution, to the new MAIU structures and provides for continuation of investigations under way, final accounts for the MCIB, transfer of records, etc.

Part 6 relates to offshore service vessels. One of the challenges in developing the offshore renewable energy sector is ensuring that our legislative regime meets the industry’s needs in regulating the variety of vessels required to service that sector. From surveying to construction, operation and decommissioning, offshore service vessels are crucial in the building and repairing of offshore equipment and in getting supplies, materials and personnel to offshore installations. The offshore renewable energy sector is an innovative sector and new types of vessels are constantly being devised. We want to ensure that Ireland has an effective but flexible regime in place to regulate such vessels to ensure their sound construction and the secure carriage of cargo, but primarily the safety of the vessel and all of those on board. This requires suitable legislation that can be adapted to meet the specific needs of vessels, from larger cargo ships to high-speed craft and smaller crew transfer vessels aimed mainly at transporting industrial personnel. It is also vital that the legislative framework we put in place for regulating these vessels aligns with international practice, such as the recently adopted SOLAS chapter XV. This includes a code for the safety of vessels carrying industrial personnel. The general scheme aligns with the IMO’s approach and provides the appropriate powers needed to develop regulations which will cover the construction, operation, survey and certification of various classes of offshore service vessels on the Irish flag and provide much needed clarity to shipowners and project developers.

Finally, Part 7 updates the reference in existing maritime safety legislation to two conventions, the IMO’s SOLAS convention and the ILO’s Maritime Labour Convention. This will enable us to reflect some of the more recently amended provisions of these conventions in Irish regulations.

I would like to say a few words on another previous report that has often been perceived as a review of the MCIB, namely, the report prepared by the barrister Roisin Lacey in 2010. Again, for clarity, that report was not a report about the organisational structures of the MCIB or the conduct of marine accident investigations; it was a report on the possible establishment of a multi-modal investigation body in the Department of Transport combining the railway, air and marine accident investigation bodies.

It was undertaken in view of the drive of the Government of the time to rationalise agencies across the whole of government. There was a subsequent change of government in 2011 and the amalgamation of the accident investigation bodies did not proceed. There have been calls for this general scheme to revive the concept of a multi-modal investigation office but my priority is to get a permanent, full-time MAIU established and operational. The establishment of the MAIU will not preclude the implementation of a further step of a multi-modal investigation unit at a future date if Government policy so desires. I am happy to share this report with the committee if it would be helpful. However, its relevance is questionable at this juncture given the original imperative for generating the report no longer applies.

Before concluding, I take this opportunity to express my appreciation for the ongoing work of the MCIB, its board members and its investigators. The proposed legislative changes to the structure of marine accident investigation are by no means a criticism of the MCIB or its work. Rather, they are a move towards a full-time, permanent maritime investigation resource which will build on the important contribution the MCIB has made in this area. This change is timely and vital in terms of enhancing the capacity of the maritime investigative function of the State as part of our ongoing work to improve maritime safety in Ireland. I thank the Chair and the committee for taking the time to undertake pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the Bill and I look forward to hearing their views on these important matters.