Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

Amendment No. 2 to amendment No. 73 has been discussed a number of times. The Minister has referred to it; it concerns other ships in Irish waters.

Amendment No. 4 deals with double hulls, an issue which arose in the context of previous maritime legislation. The amendment would require double hulls in chemical and oil tankers. In light of the ongoing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, this should be set out in legislation as a mandatory requirement.

The issues of safe manning levels and the regulations that the Minister will introduce are closely related to wages and conditions for mariners. Unsafe manning levels in commercial fleets often result from decisions to save money on wages. The minimal rights granted to workers are also related. The Bill refers to the international convention on the rights of mariners. This House and the Minister need to support the campaign being pursued by the International Transport Federation and SIPTU, as well as my colleague, Ken Fleming. This particularly important given that we are an island nation and 99% of our goods are transported by sea. We do not want the ignominy of having these goods transported by what is in effect slave labour. There is no reason this issue cannot be addressed in the Bill.

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