Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for their contributions. Deputy McNamara has been present on all Stages of the Bill, including by attending a meeting of a committee of which he is not a member. He has put forward and cogently argued a detailed line of thinking on this matter. He and I have been in correspondence at different points concerning how to address this matter.

It is important to emphasise that there is already a register in place. We are integrating it into a new electronic and centrally held register so as to facilitate accuracy and the kind of ease of access that the Deputies mentioned. More broadly, having a single registry is also meant to ensure that the regulatory compliance of ships flagged in Ireland can be tracked more easily. We are seeking to make the existing register more integrated and efficient.

I am not proposing any change in the current level of public access. In response to Deputy McNamara's points, I have inserted "shall" in my amendment, which was not the case previously. Now, a person "shall have access". I am still being specific about what that access might be, how it might come about and why it might need a statutory instrument because we are trying to create a new IT system and we must determine how the project will be structured.

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Until that is done, I cannot be more prescriptive in primary legislation as to what that access should be.

However, the key word I have included in the amendment is the word "shall", in that the register shall be open to the public. It seeks to maintain the access that currently is available and by including the word "shall", I am trying to address the point Deputy McNamara has raised a number of times. I intend to make it as open as possible, except where there is either a security or commercially-sensitive concern, in line with many of the registries available to the citizens and other people. I am including the word "shall" in the amendment to try to address the points made by the Deputy. I have tabled this amendment because while I cannot accept the Deputy's amendment at this point, I am trying to address its objective in a different manner. I propose to change the Bill in response to the points the Deputy has made at different Stages. In addition, in the interim period before this Bill returns to the Seanad, I may continue to consider how it could be structured to ascertain whether there are further ways in which this area should be addressed. However, I will conclude by emphasising again the focus on the phrase, "shall have access", which is a strengthening beyond the present position.

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