Seán Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)

Internationally conditions of employment are a matter for the flag state. This is an internationally accepted maritime law and practice. Every ship, whether a ferry or cargo ship, that travels in Europe could have a flag of Panama or Liberia. There are questions to be asked and there are discussions that need to take place at a European level as to what flag can be used on ships that operate in Europe and out of Europe.

We must take into account also the fact that Ireland is a peripheral State that depends on the ro-ro on cargo ships and on ferry ships to get our cargo and trade to the continent and further afield. Bearing in mind the strategic importance of shipping, its employment tradition and the history built up in recent years in regard to minimum wages and other good conditions of employment, we should take positive action in Europe to bring about standards on the sea that are acceptable in Ireland also.

In recent years the Government has made huge strides in developing the maritime industry in Ireland, particularly with the maritime development organisation which has looked upon Irish shipping as being of huge strategic importance. There is room for development and enlargement of the shipping services in Ireland. There is room for more Irish people to develop seafaring as a career.

The Government has put in place financial incentives for Irish and other seafaring companies to register their boats in Ireland, including the refund of employers' PRSI, an income tax allowance for seafarers working at sea for over 161 days a year and the flat rate tonnage tax. These are all attractions for companies to register their boats in Ireland. However, there is also the question of wages which must be examined at European level to ensure that the ships that operate around Europe, and particularly from Ireland, are operated at wage levels comparable to the wage levels that pertain in all of the developed western European countries.

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