Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This amendment amends section 32 and inserts “civil or”, with regard to reports of the marine safety investigation unit in order that they shall not be admissible in civil proceedings. When the Minister of State was speaking to the amendment, I was glad to hear him stress the importance of the independence of the investigation. When the general scheme was published in 2022 and the Government had approved the drafting of the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Accidents) Bill to provide for, in full time, the establishment of the MAIU as the permanent body to replace the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, MCIB, the briefing document stated that the main focus of the Bill was to provide the MAIU with the necessary framework to ensure it can, in its organisation, legal structure and as decision-maker, operate independently of any party whose interest could conflict with the task entrusted to the unit. The general scheme also provided rule-making power for the Minister to make the necessary secondary legislation. That is a separate point, however.

Moving along to when the Bill was published and the various sections, Part 2 dealt with the setting-up of the marine investigation unit, marine accident and reporting was dealt with in Part 3, the dissolution of the previous MCIB was in Part 4, and the offshore service vehicles were then dealt with in Part 5. While we welcome the intent repeated again by the Minister of State, unfortunately, the Government ultimately has failed to produce legislation that is fit for purpose. Despite repeated warnings from multiple parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael declined to make the necessary changes because, time and again, they ignored the expert opinions and recommendations. This remains a source of deep disappointment to many and a serious blow to the families who have lost loved ones and expect and hope for higher a standard of care for people into the future, such as people who have campaigned for many years, like Michael Kingston, who lost his father in the Whiddy Island tragedy in 1979. We all accept tragedies can happen despite everyone's best efforts. The point, however, is to learn from them. Unfortunately, the Government has failed in this regard. Under its stewardship, Ireland has fallen below acceptable standards when it comes to marine safety.

We have also fallen behind when it comes to the regulation of offshore vehicles, which is dealt with in Part 5, especially with regard to wind energy. This is of particular interest and importance to the future development of offshore renewable energy projects, which the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach will no doubt be encouraging, particularly in the Shannon Estuary. Therefore, no one is disputing that we must change. It is not a question if Ireland's approach to marine safety needs to be modernised but rather how these changes are fit for purpose and in line with international best practice. As it stands, the Government's proposals are inadequate and incomplete.

The history of this type of legislation is that the State has been woeful at implementing the Cape Town Agreement. There are multiple examples to point to this. First, this legislation, as I said, has discounted expert opinions, such as those from Mr. Kingston, who is in the Public Gallery, Mr. Ciaran McCarthy and the Donegal coroner, about whom I am sure my colleague, Deputy Mac Lochlainn, will speak. During pre-legislative scrutiny, the transport committee took on many of their recommendations. Regrettably, however, this expert knowledge was not taken on board. According to the experts, this Bill fails to deal with basic things such as training, education about the importance of VHF radios and wearing life jackets. There is also no mandated update to the code of practice. It seems obvious to everyone except the Government that it should be accessible to those who are using it.

Similarly, the Government has failed to be transparent and accountable when it comes to this issue. The Lacey report, which suggested a national accident investigation officer, has not been published, nor has the Clinch report, despite the Oireachtas committee advocating for their full publication to assist legislators. We are still in the dark, and how is that right? The absence of this knowledge from the public domain has created a vacuum and the legislative process, which was dealt with in a rushed manner towards the end of last year, has been a mess. Pre-legislative scrutiny was completed a full year and a half before it progressed to Second Stage last October, when the election was hanging over us. It was then guillotined and rushed through on the eve of the election. Despite many of the flaws, the Government did not provide the Opposition with the adequate time to scrutinise the Bill and proper democratic processes were disregarded.

I have a number of questions for the Minister of State. It is important to reference Wind Energy Ireland. It has commented on the text of the Bill. With regard to section 8 in particular, which sets out the functions and responsibilities of the marine accident investigation unit, Wind Energy Ireland is querying whether some clarity should be given as to the division of responsibility between the unit and the Health and Safety Authority. It asks whether there is a risk that, in the case of an accident involving the crew of a vessel and construction personnel, perhaps working on an offshore wind turbine installation, there could be confusion as to which agency is involved. It, and we, need clarity in this regard. Is a different approach going to be taken if an accident on a vessel occurs when it is tied up, for example? If one agency should have primacy and would take the lead in investigations, which agency would it be?

We need to protect rescue services who are going out in defective vehicles. All the families say that. Lives will be saved, not only in the waters around Ireland but around the world if proper implementation is afforded. Will the Minister of State also confirm that, in accordance with the Lacey report, the envisaged independent marine unit will not have any Government officials on it? Is it the case that the panel, which will be interviewing for a new chief inspector, must be completely independent and that officials should not be involved? As far as I know, that was in the original Bill but it seems to have been omitted at this stage.

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