Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

I move amendment No. 11:

In page 8, line 30, to delete "may" and substitute "shall".

A happy situation obtains in that a number of local authorities, including Fingal County Council, have introduced by-laws regulating the use of small pleasure craft, jet skis and other vehicles. This legislation is pressing due to current uncertainty over the legality of such by-laws. The Minister of State is to be commended for bringing this Bill forward.

A lot of complaints were received from coastal and inland local authorities. Small vehicles and boats have caused problems on the important lakes and rivers that exist within most local authorities. For this reason I propose to change the word "may" to "shall" so that by-laws on this matter will be introduced.

With regard to amendment No. 12, I fear that the words "regulating and controlling the operation of craft" may be interpreted so as to limit the matters which may be addressed by the by-laws. A grammatical problem arises in the existing lines 30 and 31, which contain an ambiguous reference to the operation of craft by a local authority. While the Minister said in the Seanad that the clause was necessary to define the scope of the powers, I ask him to re-investigate the issue.

Amendment No. 13 is a key amendment. An interesting discussion was held during Second Stage of this Bill on all aspects of this matter. The Minister has a good record in encouraging people to enjoy the water and to conduct recreational activities there. Tribute was paid to our late colleague, Seán Doherty, who also encouraged people to enjoy the Shannon and its tributaries. However, other jurisdictions, such as New South Wales, require a personal watercraft driver's licence to operate a jet ski. Drivers or masters of such vessels must pass a qualifying test to be issued with such a licence. The title of master may be too grandiose. Such a requirement means that a minimum level of safety rules would have to be understood and, I hope, practised by the jet ski driver. The introduction of a system of registration of such vehicles is also important, particularly so as to permit authorised officers, including gardaí, to adequately carry out their functions. We felt this step would be taken at some stage so it might as well be now to make this a more comprehensive Maritime Safety Bill. We should have a full licensing and registration system.

Amendment No. 14 is an additional amendment consequent to our discussions on Committee Stage. We discussed two events, one in Youghal and another off the south-east coast where a number of young people lost their lives when they were using fast leisure vehicles such as water skis and jet skis. The marine casualty investigation board, which has done a great job over the past number of years in holding important investigations into water safety, felt that in a number of cases wearing helmets and other protective clothing would have played an important role in saving lives. The Minister of State added many amendments on this Stage and he might also consider this one.

Amendment No. 15 is consequent on amendment No. 12 in trying to extend the scope of the amendments. That is the last of my amendments, which seek to provide a registration and licensing system and to increase the pleasurable use of the seas and our waterways.

See this speech in context