Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. He mentioned the section of the Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Wreck) Act 1993, which gives effect to the International Convention on Salvage of 1989. However, it says that the Minister for Transport has the power to appoint an official, known as a receiver of the wreck, to organise the process of dealing with it. If I go back to where we are today, that ship is still below. The onus, from the Minister of State’s reply, is on Cork County Council but that council will have to do it for free because there is no money, so we are back in the same situation again.

It is amazing, because the MCIB that was set up does not seem to have any joined-up thinking. The Court of Justice of the European Union, in the European Commission v.Ireland, found that the MCIB lacks independence, contrary to EU law. The aforementioned review notes that it is also deficient, incompetent and:

engages chronically underfunded or supported investigators to carry out statutory investigations on a shoestring [budget]. This report is a dreadful indictment.

These are not my words but came from the barrister referring to that case taken in the European Union's court.

The information I am trying to get from the Minister of State - and I appreciate his reply - is the fact that I cannot get a response here. The Minister of State at the Department of Transport has the power under the Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Wreck) Act 1993 to send somebody down there to remove that wreckage and remove that eyesore in Ballycotton. It is a danger. It is still attracting people to go down and try to board the ship. It has been done on a number of occasions. Unfortunately, we will be here, perhaps next year, and will be using the line, “I hate to say I told you, so but I told you so”. God forbid that somebody is killed.

It is a red flag for this country. We need a proper marine investigation board to nip these things at the bud, as I said. This ship was floating for months or weeks in Irish waters. It was never spotted until it washed up in Ballycotton. We need to get it removed.

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