Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I would like to make a broad point about the various Bills being produced by the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. Some officials from the Department are present today. The House has passed many useful Bills from the Department in the past three years. I welcome the Bill which will be of great importance as part of the effort to save lives.

It seems a great deal of serious and important legislation promised has not been introduced. Such legislation relates to every Department, including the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher, will acknowledge that those involved in the fisheries sector are openly discussing the ramifications for the fishing industry of the clampdown that will be imposed by Brussels if we do not act to bring an end to the overfishing of Ireland's quotas. I would like to discuss the implications of such a development for our entire fisheries regime. It is remarkable and surprising that legislative proposals have not emerged in that respect, given that Ireland is likely to be required to take action. Legislation may be necessary to alter the system of management of the sector.

I do not intend to undermine the importance of the Bill under discussion but merely to question the manner in which our legislative priorities are ordered. The House has considered many Bills introduced by the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources in the past three years. As I said, however, I would have preferred if some of the legislative provisions had been grouped together. If we do not have much time in the Dáil which I understand from the Chief Whip's office to be the case, such a systemof legislative grouping may be necessary. I ask the Minister of State to respond to this general point when he responds at the end of this debate. What other Bills will be introduced by the Department in the near future? It would be more informative to receive such details from the Minister of State than it would be to ask the Taoiseach to look at his piece of paper on the Order of Business.

Having made that general point on the legislative schedule from the Department, I welcome the Bill. It is clear from the comments in the Seanad and the Dáil to date that there is general support for its purpose and intent. I am following a Deputy from another landlocked county. I am a proud Deputy from Dublin South which does not have one inch of seawater and precious few waterways, unless one counts the Dodder. However, that does not stop me having views on the use and abuse of jet skis and the nuisance they can cause. I welcome their management under the Bill.

Reading the other provisions of the Bill, it appears the devil will be in how the legislation is interpreted by the relevant authorities. For a number of years I was a sailor in Dublin Bay among a very low ranking crew of ruffian vessels. If I were to make a literal interpretation of the Bill, it appears that for most of the time my life was in danger and the owner of the vessel should have had his sanity questioned because every time I went out something was broken. Otherwise the trips were a great success. The interpretation and enforcement of the Bill will be crucial because I am sure the intent is not to restrict completely maritime activity to the point where it will not be possible to do anything on the open waves for fear of breaching a by-law or regulation.

The approach adopted in the Bill is correct in terms of giving responsibility to the local authorities. It is not appropriate for us at national level to determine the exact nature of by-laws. I welcome the broad provision giving local authorities and the designated authorities set out in section 17 the responsibility to enforce the legislation.

Local authorities should be much more proactive in managing leisure facilities. However, they are constrained by the lack of finance and often play a narrow role. It is right and appropriate for them to examine and manage their waterway facilities in a more proactive manner. Committing them to commissioning such by-laws which might regulate where one could use certain types of craft would be useful a way of setting their management parameters to everyone's benefit.

I question how we can enforce the proposed by-laws, particularly as they relate to the consumption of alcohol or drugs by skippers of vessels at sea. It appears the Coast Guard must have a responsibility in that regard in terms of having ready access to vessels to which the Garda Síochána might not have easy access.

I hope to tease out with the Minister on Committee and Report Stages how the legislation will be enforced. It appears we are good in this House at drawing up detailed legislation and regulations but if they are not enforced, they are of little use. I am interested in hearing from the Minister of State how the regulations on the seaworthiness of vessels and the consumption of alcohol will be enforced. Which authorities will have primary responsibility in this regard? What infrastructure will be provided for such authorities to ensure they will enforce the legislation effectively? I am concerned that it will be simply a case of providing legislation in order to appear concerned about safety, a concern which will not be backed up by enforcement.

I would be very surprised if there was a Deputy in the House who did not support the main intent and provisions of the legislation. It will be up to Members on this side to go through it in more detail on Committee and Report Stages to improve or change sections by way of amendments. However, my party supports the general intent of the Bill which I welcome.

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