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

To be clear, the Marine Casualty Investigation Board's recommendations are made independently of the Department. That is important for the reason the Deputy mentioned, that if there are recommendations that require the Department to take action, it must have that independence. That, in effect, was the underlying direction in Article 8.1 of the European directive, which is to require that independence. That is what we are addressing in this legislation.

With regard to the concerns in that case and other issues in respect of previous investigations, the European court decision did not relate to individual places or individual actions that had or had not been taken as a result of a report. That is something we should take into account as part of this review. It is to examine the wider process, and the review process will be the opportune time. It is more than 20 years since 1998 so it is timely for us to do it. The court decision and the need for changes to the board prompted the review, but it is only prompted from the issue of independence. The review allows us to look at a range of different issues with regard to the functioning of the board that can then be addressed in legislation. Indeed, if within that process we see that there are actions that need to be taken more immediately by the Department or others, I commit fully to making sure those actions are taken.