Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I welcome the Bill, which is long overdue. I recall that in 1999, 2001 and 2003 attempts were made to provide for the safety of people who use the sea and waterways. For a variety of reasons, none of which I fully understand, they did not succeed. I compliment the Minister of State. If anybody understands the importance of this legislation, he does. This Bill is badly needed.

Everybody accepts that as this country gets more affluent, people have more disposable income. That can be seen in the houses they build, the cars they buy and the sports in which they participate. It is only reasonable to assume it will increase participation in water based activities. That is what has happened. What was outside the reach of a normal family until recently is now well within their reach. I hope more people become involved in water based activities. There is a great future for that sector. We are surrounded by water and there are many unused inland waterways that could be developed. The CSO figures released last week indicate there will be a huge increase in population over the next ten to 15 years. Obviously, water activities will be among the leisure pursuits of many thousands of Irish families.

In an ideal world, one would prefer that there were no rules and that people would act responsibly. However, in this world, if enough people get together to do something, some control measures will be required. Water based activities are no different.

There are many aspects to this legislation but I wish to focus on jet skis. Undoubtedly, it is nice to spend a pleasant summer evening near a peaceful beach. However, if there are a few louts on jet skis, coming too close to the water's edge, revving the engines as much as possible and getting up to dangerous antics — although they are not all irresponsible — it is easy, even for somebody who is unfamiliar with jet skis, to see how an accident could occur.

Furthermore, one would also fear that a type of cult following would emerge for such activities, a little like the motorbike brigades of old. If there were groups of these people travelling from one remote part of the country to another, there could be great difficulty if they got out of control. That is the reason safety measures, controls, fines and so forth must be implemented. We hear much talk about anti-social behaviour. It would be unrealistic not to expect it to find its way into water based activities. There are louts and yobs who will have no trouble finding the money to buy jet skis and so forth, wherever that money comes from, and who will take great pleasure in terrorising people, particularly the elderly, who are out for a stroll by the water.

There is a worse aspect to this. There are many small isolated beaches and fishing grounds in remote parts of the country. These are attractive for people escaping our frantic lifestyle who wish to spend a peaceful day or couple of hours at the water. When these louts appear on jet skis it results in the area getting a bad name. Some parts of the country are so popular that they can overcome such a problem but something like this occurred in south Galway a couple of years ago and it created havoc. For some reason it stopped and I have no wish to see a return of such carry on.

The legislation attempts to make the owners and operators of vessels more aware of their own safety and the safety of the people they transport.

The legislation will be implemented by the local authorities, and I have no problem with that. There are many parallels to this, one of which is the National Roads Authority and the new speed limit signs on the roads. However, I presume local authorities will not be able to do what they wish. Obviously, it is important that they take responsibility for the implementation of this legislation within their areas. However, to ensure overall consistency, I assume there will be overarching directives the local authorities will have to accept. The Minister might refer to this when he sums up. A pattern might emerge of a Lego-land in which every local authority acts differently and where, half a mile up the road in another local authority area, there might be a different interpretation of the legislation. While I cannot imagine what the differences would be as I am not au fait with the detail of the Bill, the Minister might indicate the common denominator in regard to the limit of the powers of local authorities.

We know the objectives of the legislation. However, I understand from the Minister's speech that bodies such as Waterways Ireland, the harbour companies, Iarnród Éireann and, with regard to the fishing harbours, the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, are independent republics. The Bill does not impinge on such bodies or, if it does, they have responsibilities for its implementation whereas the local authorities in those areas are not involved. Why was it not possible to ensure that a local authority in a given area was involved? While I accept Waterways Ireland would be involved, for obvious reasons, why, for example, should harbour companies and Iarnród Éireann be exempt from the same legislation in a given local authority area? Why was there not broad brush, national legislation to cover these matters? Why was the Bill fragmented? I see no reason for it.

The holiday season is almost upon us. Unfortunately, according to tourism managers I have spoken with, the number of foreign anglers who visit Ireland is diminishing rapidly. I hope this trend will be arrested because Ireland has much to offer. A point about angling connected to the debate on the Bill is that it tends to be concentrated in areas that are not blessed with many specific tourist attractions — I think of areas in north of my constituency close to Glinsk and Ballymoe on the Roscommon border. Local men and women in such areas spent years trying to organise angling clubs to try to attract visitors. They find it bewildering that, whatever has gone wrong, not as many overseas anglers visit as did previously, and nobody seems to understand the reasons for this. In the context of the Bill, it is vital we ensure that the local environment is as peaceful as possible. Therefore, unruly noise from jet-skis, powerboats and cruisers must be controlled.

This brings me to a matter raised by Members on all sides, namely, how the legislation will be policed. As sure as night follows day, the House will pass the Bill; I have not heard anyone speak against it. The riding instructions will be given to the local authorities and they will duly pass the by-laws. The matter will then be the responsibility of the Garda Síochána, which is possibly the only body that can implement the laws. However, if one is out at sea or in the middle of a lake and witnesses anti-social behaviour, who will be responsible for stopping it? While I accept it would be stopped without difficulty in certain well-known tourist locations, how long would it take in more isolated locations for the powers that be to catch those who are, to put it bluntly, acting the maggot? How sure are we that we will have the type of enforcement capacity to ensure the Bill does not become nonsensical? This question has been discussed in both Houses of the Oireachtas but a question mark remains as to whether the Bill will be properly policed.

When are we likely to see law-breakers being brought to court? I accept we are speaking in a vacuum because the Bill is only now being introduced. However, it would be fair and reasonable to assume that unless more funding is invested in the system for policing the implementation of the Bill, we might as well not debate it in the House.

The former Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Dermot Ahern, introduced the legislation for compulsory wearing of lifejackets. I believed at the time that the measure was necessary for those working on boats, such as fishermen, and for those using pleasure craft. I understand the Act applies to persons aged over 16. However, I have not heard of anybody being brought to court for not wearing a lifejacket. I assume that, as in most walks of life, not everybody obeys the law immediately it is enacted. Is it the case that every boat user had a change of heart and duly procured a lifejacket, or that this law is being flouted every day of the week, which would tally with my information? The Minister is in a better position to know about this matter than I. What is the situation? The principle is the same as wearing a seat belt in a car. It is extremely important that those who make their living on the sea or in inland fisheries wear lifejackets.

On another matter, I heard the Minister speak at a safety demonstration in Sligo last Sunday. I ask whether the leisure industry, the Department and related groups do enough in regard to safety. I would expect it to be a significant aspect for individuals and groups involved in the leisure industry. The training acquired at such safety demonstrations is vital and more should be done in this area. Is it possible for some sort of small financial bonus or incentive to be built in to the system so that groups and organisations would want to carry out such demonstrations? The Government can do nothing if members of the various groups which make up the water-based leisure activity sector are not motivated. Something should be done in that regard.

The Minister of State mentioned the licensing of vessels which are more than 24 metres long. There was some reference to vessels between 12 and 24 metres. Do they receive half a licence? If so, why is that the case? Does this mean that there is no licence for vessels less than 12 metres long? What are the owners of such vessels to do? It is important that the register to which the Minister of State refers includes all vessels. The cost involved in licensing a vessel which is longer than 24 metres would be much greater than a vessel which is eight, nine or ten metres long. However, it would be a case of horses for courses. It is important to know why vessels under 12 metres long do not come under the remit of this Bill.

The hydrographic service is very important. Anything connected with science below the water level is hugely significant for those of us concerned with the effects on the Shannon and Suck of flash flooding. The information gleaned from this service should be made available to a variety of people whether for free or for a charge. This major survey will result in expertise and information. There will also be a very useful survey of the seabed. I am interested in terms of flash flooding of the Shannon and the effects that has on its tributaries. Money is now being pumped into this service and its primary purpose is shipping. Waterways Ireland will obviously have a major say in that regard. However, the information and advice that will be collected from the hydrographic survey is very important and many people who have nothing to do with waterways will want to have this information at their disposal. I wish the legislation well and sincerely hope that when it is passed, the Department will be able to police it.

See this speech in context