Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have some questions for Mr. Hogan. Does the Marine Survey Office, MSO, have a problem sharing information with other State agencies? It seems to me from my experience that it does. What Mr. Hogan neglected to tell us in his contribution is that, apart from general issues to do with safety at sea and on vessels, the organisation is responsible for the monitoring, regulation and enforcement of working time directives at sea, rest periods and so on. In the course of his work and that of his inspectors and others engaged on behalf of the MSO, he would encounter information from organisations like the Naval Service, the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, the Revenue Commissioners, An Garda Síochána and others that would be relevant to the operation of the scheme.

From the get-go, the MSO resisted membership of the implementation group. It essentially refused to sign the original memorandum of understanding. It appears to have given a commitment some time ago to the industry that, when revising the log books, it would not share any information whatever with any other agency, even if it was relevant to the enforcement of important legislation. The MSO does not only have responsibility for marine safety. Its parent Department's website describes the functions of the MSO very clearly, including "the living and working conditions of all ships and crews". The MSO has a wider responsibility than Mr. Hogan indicated in his contribution. For the life of me I cannot understand why it resisted signing the original memorandum of understanding. Organisations like the SFPA and others that might have a more tangential relationship to employment rights at sea were quite happy to sign it and work with other agencies in risk-profiling potential vessel owners who might be at risk of non-compliance. All the agencies should be facilitated in doing their jobs effectively and implementing the scheme the Government asked them to implement.

I cannot understand why the MSO appears to refuse to share relevant information. It is almost as though it were a policy position, although I do not know who could have adopted it. Perhaps it was the MSO itself. It was clear in conversations I have had with a previous Minister that the Department did not want this to be the case. I would be very interested to hear Mr. Hogan's position on sharing information with colleague agencies and whether he is involved in the risk profiling group operated by the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. What type of information does the MSO share? Does it share information that would be extremely useful to other agencies and Government Departments in terms of the implementation and enforcement of this scheme?