Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Marine Survey Office, MSO is the safety regulator for maritime transport in Ireland, and one of its key responsibilities is to ensure the safety of all passengers travelling by boat. In 2008, officials from the MSO carried out an assessment of the landing facilities at Inishmurray island and deemed the recognised landing on the island to be wholly unsuitable for landing passengers. As a consequence, no passenger licences have been issued which include Inishmurray on their plying limits. It was recommended that no such licences be issued until such time as the appropriate landing facility has been provided. No passenger boat licences have been revoked due to this issue and those passenger boats which have the appropriate licences may approach the island so that passengers may see the island and take photographs. It was brought to the attention of the MSO that certain boats were advertising trips to the island and as such may have been operating outside the terms of their passenger boat licences. As safety regulator, the MSO has a responsibility to ensure the safety of passengers and officials of the MSO contacted the owners of these vessels to remind them of their obligations.

I should make it clear that this issue relates to the issuing of passenger boat licences. A passenger boat is defined in the Merchant Shipping Act 1992 and includes a boat carrying up to 12 passengers for reward or while carrying up to 12 persons to or from their place of work. It would not include persons using a boat by themselves or while carrying friends or family as non-fare paying passengers. Such vessels may be considered to be recreational craft which do not require passenger boat licences but may still be subject to other regulation. The Department recently updated its code of practice on the safe operation of recreational craft.

The solution here is simple, namely, the provision of an appropriately safe landing facility. This is a matter for the owner of the property on which the facility would be built and the appropriate local authority, which in this instance is Sligo County Council. I am mindful of the importance of tourism to the local economy in Sligo and elsewhere. That said, passenger safety is a top priority. Once an appropriate landing facility is provided, officials of the MSO will assess it and any passenger vessel proposing to use it with a view to granting the appropriate licence.

On the basis of the concerns raised about Inishmurray island, the Minister of State at my Department, Deputy Griffin, travelled to Sligo last Tuesday, 24 April, to meet locals and listen to their concerns. As a follow-on from this, the Minister of State agreed to facilitate a meeting as a matter of urgency involving agencies that may be able to deliver a solution which would ultimately enable the MSO to reassess the matter. Obviously, as the MSO is the regulator, it would not be appropriate for that office formally to advise on the matter. I hope that such a meeting will chart a course of action to remedy this issue, address the safety concerns and enable tourism to the island to develop. Deputies will be aware of the fact that this proposed meeting will take place very shortly.

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