Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

I support the Bill. I hope its implementation will take place with the requisite speed. Since the events of 11 September 2001, the international political scene has utterly changed, with heightened diplomatic tension throughout the world. Just as people can vividly recall where they were when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, others will recall where they were when the aeroplanes struck the twin towers. I remember the assassination of John F. Kennedy because my father was about the same age and I clearly recall thinking it was a young age to die.

I was on a bus when the attack took place on 11 September 2001. I got a call from my son who told me that the aircraft had hit the Twin Towers and that there was mayhem in the city. We felt trapped without a radio on the bus and with no way of communicating. We did not know what was happening outside and felt that everybody was vulnerable. Planes were flying with hours of fuel left. There was enough fuel to fly home and watch television to catch up with what was happening. It brought a new sense of depravity to international terrorism. People now had a new weapon that had never been used before and it made people have second thoughts about flying. It did not matter that the aircraft were full of innocent people and even seemed preferable from the terrorists' point of view. The softer and more innocent the target, the more valuable it was to them. The hijackers did not mind sacrificing their lives. In some cases they were duped into getting on the aircraft and did not realise they would also crash into the towers along with their victims.

This was a defining moment in the terrorism timetable and anti-terrorism co-operation has been a worldwide feature ever since. This is appropriate and we need to tighten our procedures in this regard. The shipping industry is wide open to this type of abuse. There are particular procedures when boarding an aircraft. However, people can simply walk or drive on to a ship. With so much volume transported by ships, that industry is in no way immune from this activity and maritime security has assumed an importance commensurate with maritime safety and environmental protection.

There is no evidence that shipping played any role in the atrocities of 11 September 2001. The bombs may have arrived in ships and the people involved might have arrived as stowaways. Nobody knows how they arrived there. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that shipping could have a central role in a determined terrorist attack. People go on ships in a carefree way. Many people use them to go on holiday etc. in preference to flying and they represent an easy target. Shipping could also be used to transport lethal weapons of war or to act as a weapon itself.

We recall the Cuban missile crisis of 1963, which brought the world to the brink of the Third World War, and the part played by the fledgling satellite technology in detecting the transport of such missiles by sea.

The world's maritime transport system comprises more than 46,000 vessels and about 4,000 ports. The system is open and flexible, which makes it vulnerable to terrorist attacks or misuse. The system can be used to conceal weapons or provide logistical support for terrorist organisations. As ship ownership is quite easy to conceal, the system could also serve as a source of funding for terrorists. If a ship's owner were sympathetic to a terrorist organisation, such a ship could become a dangerous weapon. It can be quite difficult to establish ship ownership as they use flags of convenience.

The spectre of ship hijackings, so often the subject of blockbuster movies, is not quite so fanciful. The International Maritime Organisation, which is the body that co-ordinates maritime activity, has placed maritime security at the head of its agenda, and not before time. Many countries, including Ireland, already have the protection of a dedicated coast guard service for patrolling and protecting their territorial waters. The idea of an EU coast guard on the lines of the international police organisation, Interpol, would play a vital role in combating the twin threats of terrorism and organised crime.

The recent example of the Madrid bombings vividly reminds us of the canker of global terrorism that continues to corrode the body politic. Willingness of terrorists to sacrifice their lives to achieve their evil aims creates a new dimension for those involved in the prevention of terrorism. Documentary programmes have shown children in schools being brainwashed into believing that if they act as suicide bombers and give their lives for the cause, they will be rewarded in their afterlife. This is grossly wrong and represents an abuse of youth which will need to be addressed.

Rightly or wrongly, Ireland is perceived as part of the western group of states. Last year President George Bush briefly claimed us as part of the coalition in the war on Iraq. I vividly recall that, when I heard that, I thought about the troubles it could bring. This places us in an extremely vulnerable position vis-À-vis the world terrorism threat, and our Government's co-operation with US troop and armament transportation through Shannon Airport undoubtedly copperfastens our place on that hit list. We represent a soft target, which leaves us open to attack.

The Government played both sides of the road in the war on Iraq by denying it was aiding the US and then saying it was against the war all along. We all remember the 100,000 people who marched against the war on Iraq. I vigorously opposed the US misadventure at the time and, in this House, I indicated to the Government that its dalliance with George Bush and his band of "neo-cons" would rebound against this country's better interests

The level of security that will surround the US President for his brief stopover in Clare next month should demonstrate in sharp relief the puny security that exists here. Our country is hugely vulnerable to attacks, whether from sea or from the air. We have a limited number of naval vessels which do not have the capacity to cover our lengthy coastline. The removal of the search and rescue function from the Air Corps is inexplicable, given the dedicated and unstinting service of Air Corps personnel over the past 40 years. Morale is bound to suffer by the privatisation of this function of the Air Corps, and it shows scant regard for its contribution down the years.

The 1988 UN Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation and the protocol to that convention have been in force since 1992. Specific offences against the safety of Irish ships, other shipping in Irish territorial waters and against fixed platforms on the continental shelf are specified in the Bill. It also provides for extra-territorial jurisdiction covering offences committed outside the State and the extradition of alleged offenders

Twelve years have elapsed without effective legislation being drawn up and enacted in this jurisdiction and, in the context of the increased threat from global terrorism, this legislation is ten years late. However, it is better late than never. I hope the Bill will be implemented before the end of Ireland's EU Presidency. It represents a belated attempt to ensure that our maritime system is free from the threat of terrorism.

See this speech in context