Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming into the Chamber this afternoon to debate this Bill. It is a Bill that is long overdue. I welcome its publication and look forward to supporting its passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas over the coming days and weeks.

I have three points to make. First, I wish to emphasise the importance of the marine domain in this country. I heard some statistics thrown around today and yesterday. The figures I have come from eminent sources. Our maritime domain is 12 times the size of our landmass from a jurisdictional point of view. Looking at it that way, some 92% of Ireland is submerged under the water. This lets us know how important the sea is to this country of ours. Whether we like it or not, we are an island state, a maritime nation and we are completely dependent on the seas and oceans that surround us. I am sure the Minister of State with his green credentials can fully appreciate that. I have three examples as to why the sea is important to us. From a trade perspective, we are a small trading nation. Some 99% of trade that travels in and out of this country is by sea. Deputy Verona Murphy can certainly attest to that. Our sea lanes of communication are very important as are the continental ports in France. It is important that we secure our shipping and ensure our merchant vessels can move freely and unimpeded along those sea lanes.

On the data cables, I am reassured that reference has been made to them in this Bill. They are also very important. If we are planning data cables, we must ensure we can properly secure them and maintain the integrity of those communication lines. There are significant fibre-optic data cables between North America and Europe of great strategic importance. They carry millions of financial transactions every hour. People think that the data cloud is in the sky but in fact the cloud is at the bottom of the sea. If we are planning these data cables, either near our coastline or through our maritime jurisdictional area, it is important that we take this into consideration.

I refer to offshore energy.

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The Minister of State knows more than anybody else that the wind and wave potential out there is immense. It is almost immeasurable. There is potential for several trillion euro worth of revenue to be gained from a wind and wave perspective. It is vital that we recognise the importance of our maritime domain. For those reasons, it is important that we improve our maritime positioning. I am not sure there is an understanding of how important it is that we pivot from land to sea and extract as much as possible from a maritime perspective. When I say we can protect and exploit, it is because those two words can be used in tandem. They are not incompatible at all. We can protect the environment and, at the same time, sustainably exploit what it has to offer.

The second key point I want to make relates to MARA, the formation of which I very much welcome. It is a good development and is long overdue. As a proud member of the Regional Group, I am pleasantly surprised that the new body will be based in regional Ireland. All roads do not lead to Dublin but, in fact, to the sea. I am very happy the authority will be located in Wexford. That county deserves this facility for a number of reasons. First, it is coastal county; second, it is a very disadvantaged part of the country; and, third, it is very close to our sea lanes to continental Europe. Most important, it is geographically the closest county to our now nearest EU neighbour, namely, France. Perhaps the Minister of State will elaborate in his closing remarks on where exactly in Wexford MARA will be sited. In the light of recent developments, how will the board be appointed? Will it be through the Public Appointments Service or by Government appointment, and what checks and balances will be in place in that regard? There does not seem to be any input into MARA from a security or defence perspective. Will the Minister of State comment on how that aspect will be fed into the system? The defence and security sectors are key stakeholders in this environment and I would like them to at least have a voice at the table.

The final point I raise is to do with the references in the Bill to enforcement. If we have learned anything from a planning perspective, it is that enforcement is important. From a maritime point of view, enforcement from a number of perspectives must be considered. I refer to our Naval Service. The navy is the primary seagoing State agency in the country and that is exactly as it should be. It operates as a kind of one-stop shop for State services. If the State has a maritime requirement, it generally approaches the navy. That arrangement is called the single-agency concept and it is working very well. For instance, the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority does not have vessels of its own. Nor does the Garda Síochána, and even Customs and Excise vessels cannot go out too far and generally piggyback on naval vessels. I suspect MARA will be no different and will have to utilise the resources of the Naval Service. I ask the Minister of State to ensure the navy is properly resourced. It is going through a very bad patch at the moment. I fully appreciate that this is not specifically within the portfolio of the Minister of State and his senior colleague but I refer to the concept of Cabinet collective responsibility. A number of naval vessels cannot put to sea at this time because we do not have the sailors. Navy staff cannot strike and have no access to the Workplace Relations Commission or the Labour Court. They have absolutely no bargaining power when it comes to pay talks. In line with Cabinet collective responsibility, will the Minister of State have a chat with his colleagues and remind them that our sailors and navy staff are relying on Ministers to make a decision to ensure they are not exploited down the line?

In summary, I want to emphasise the importance of elevating maritime matters to where they belong in this island nation of ours. I used the two words "protect" and "exploit" because we certainly can do both. However, we can only do both if we have the proper governance and legislative underpinning in place before we expand into our maritime domain.

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