Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

I wish to address amendment No. 6. I commend Deputy Perry for tabling this amendment dealing with international bilge discharge. We are the most vulnerable of the EU member states to this form of pollution. The Minister of State said on Committee Stage that regarding the protocol, the fund and the international convention we have limited room for manoeuvre to amend these instruments. How many countries have yet to pass this legislation for it to become active? The attachment to the instrument indicates there are 12 countries. At what stage are we in that regard? In other words, will this legislation have an impact on the protection of our coastal area?

Regarding the important point Deputy Perry rightly made, since we have been trying to invigilate the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources we have been told repeatedly about the discussions at international level on the particularly sensitive sea areas, PSSAs. The Minister of State's predecessor, the then Minister of State, Deputy Browne, rightly highlighted Ireland's interest in proceeding with PSSAs at an early stage. I understood that most coastal nations of the EU were prepared to move on this matter in regard to the passage of single hulled ships through their waters, the monitoring of pollution and the imposing of a much stricter regime, including punishment, for masters and crews who disregard the ecosystem of the North Atlantic and the Irish Sea and adjoining seas. What is happening in this respect?

Since I was elected to the Dáil, the leader of the Green Party, Deputy Sargent, has been asking about the introduction of the foreshore Bill. We have had endless discussions on it and it was on the clár during the last Dáil. The Deputy, I and other Deputies asked about it occasionally. We were told a number of sessions ago that the foreshore Bill was being revamped and the introduction of a coastal protection and development type legislation was being examined. Such legislation would be important for the Minister of State's constituency, my constituency and many other constituencies.

Regarding the insertion of the section rightly proposed by Deputy Perry, are we any closer to creating a better monitoring regime for the seas around our country, given that we have had many close calls? When we discussed the oil pollution Bill, one of the Minister of State's colleagues told us that 0.25% to 0.50% of oil production in the world ends up in the seas of the world. We had a number of close calls with ships like the Princess Eva and so on where our maritime protection agency, coastguard and, in the Minister of State's, case, Donegal County Council did well to protect the country from a disaster. As Deputy Eamon Ryan rightly said, if it will be five years before this measure has an impact, does the exercise in which we are engaged not show the level of importance that the country sadly attaches to maritime affairs? We do not have a Minister at Cabinet with responsibility for this area, although I commend the Minister of State for actions he has taken. We do not take this issue seriously enough. In regard to marine pollution, is it not true that having regard to issues such as the particularly sensitive sea areas and the strict invigilation of our waters, we are still not taking this issue seriously enough? The Minister of State needs to take some dramatic action in this area over the next few years.

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