Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I do not believe Deputy Mattie McGrath will be here. He rang me to say he would not be here.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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That is fine.

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important matter for debate. Many Members will have heard the episode of RTÉ's "Documentary on One" over the weekend entitled "Fire in the Sky". The programme was brilliantly produced by Donal O'Herlihy and Michael Lawless and featured the former President of Ireland, Dr. Mary McAleese. Ms Mary Kingston, whose husband, Tim Kingston, died was one of the contributors, as was her son, Michael Kingston, who was just four years old when his dad was lost in atrocious circumstances in the Whiddy Island disaster, which claimed 51 lives due to an appalling failure to rescue jetty workers and a tanker crew on the offshore jetty. Michael Kingston has since gone on to become a maritime lawyer, working with many Governments and the International Maritime Organization on maritime regulatory safety.

"Fire in the Sky" is a gripping documentary which tells the heartbreaking story of that dreadful night. Everyone died needlessly because of breaches of Irish regulation by Gulf Oil Corporation and the Irish State's failure to enforce safety regulations. Additionally, it is the case and was very clear from Mary McAleese's testimony that there was an appalling failure in the administration of justice and that these families were put through further and unimaginable torture.

I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, to respectfully reach out and meet with the French-Irish Association of Relatives and Friends of the Betelgeuse through its representative, Michael Kingston. The victims, their families, the workers, rescue services, residents of Whiddy Island, the people of Bantry and west Cork have been waiting for four decades for a State apology and to discuss the rectification of the victims' death certificates to record unlawful deaths. There is also a need for the urgent implementation of outstanding international maritime regulation. I ask the Minister of State to do this now, with a view to arranging a heartfelt State apology to be delivered by the Taoiseach in Dáil Éireann before the next anniversary of the Whiddy Island disaster.

In 1979, there was failure of regulation. We did not take the opportunity at that time to look at where regulation failed. It is critical in any investigation to analyse the regulation surrounding the incident. Were the regulations suitable? Were they correctly enforced? Could they have been improved upon? It is sad to say that we still have the same regime today. I again ask the Minister of State, on behalf of the Government, to respectfully reach out and meet the family and friends association now, with a view to a heartfelt State apology being delivered by the Taoiseach here in Dáil Éireann.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Carey for raising this important issue. I acknowledge what a tragedy the Whiddy Island disaster was and express my deepest sympathies to those who died and the families they left behind. A tribunal of inquiry was established in April 1979, with the High Court judge, Mr. Justice Declan Costello, being appointed to lead the inquiry. A number of public hearings with oral testimony were conducted throughout 1979 and Mr. Justice Costello submitted his report in May 1980. The report concluded that a number of factors contributed to the disaster, including the poor condition of the French-registered oil tanker, along with Gulf Oil not following the correct safety procedures and a lack of regulation of the safety of oil jetties. The then Minister for Labour put in place the Dangerous Substances (Oil Jetties) Regulations in 1979, which regulate the safety of oil jetties in the State. I understand there have been further developments in this area with the Health and Safety Authority publishing its code of practice for health and safety in dock work in 2016, which addresses safety arrangements at oil jetties. Given the broad range of issues involved across a number of Departments, the original report into the inquiry and any subsequent documentation will need to be reviewed in light of any request received from the families and a consensus reached across Government Departments on specific issues raised.

Separately, it is important to note that the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, MCIB, was only established as an independent body following the enactment of the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) Act 2000, with a mandate to examine and, if necessary, carry out investigations into all types of marine casualties to, or on board, Irish-registered vessels worldwide and other vessels in Irish territorial waters and inland waterways.

The Deputy will be aware that on 9 July 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union, CJEU, issued a judgment concerning the independence of the MCIB and the findings have since been addressed through the resignation of two board numbers in July last year and the introduction of amending regulations under the European Communities Act 1972. While these actions addressed the CJEU ruling from an EU perspective, separate revision of the 2000 Act is required to facilitate the appointment of new members of the MCIB. Drafting of the Bill to amend the Act of 2000 is at an advanced stage and it is hoped to progress the publication of the Bill in the coming period as a part of the Government's autumn legislative programme.

Separately, an independent review of the organisational structures for marine casualty investigation in Ireland was initiated in March of this year. The key objective of the review is to assess the current organisational structures for marine casualty investigation and to set out in a report any recommendations to achieve the most appropriate and effective marine casualty investigation structures for Ireland, taking into account national, EU and international obligations.

Following a competitive tender process, Clinchmaritime Limited was selected to undertake the review and tasked to report back to the Minister for Transport with recommendations on how Ireland should approach marine casualty investigations going forward. Clinchmaritime Limited is headed by Captain Steve Clinch, a former chief inspector of marine accidents in the UK's marine accident investigation branch who has experience working at a high level in EU and international capacities relating to marine casualty investigations. Captain Clinch began the review process in late March and a report on the review of organisational structures underpinning marine casualty investigation in Ireland has been submitted to my Department and is currently being examined.

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State will be aware of the work of the Committee on Transport and Communications concerning the marine casualty investigation board following the Court of Justice of the European Union judgment against Ireland for failing to implement international maritime regulations, which came, incredibly, 41 years after the disaster's appalling regulatory framework failings. Over the past year our committee has heard compelling evidence from expert witnesses, including Mr. Michael Kingston, of fundamental ongoing shortcomings in maritime safety and adherence to international law.

To the credit of the Minister of State, and the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, a review was initiated at the request of the committee. This review has since been completed by Captain Steve Clinch and was submitted to the Department last July. The problem is that we have been here before. The 1998 report recommended international best practice and 11 years ago a barrister, Ms Roisin Lacey, completed similar work and presented draft legislation, yet this legislation was buried in the Department and the fundamental reforms that would have ensured a properly constituted independent and competent marine casualty investigation unit did not happen.

It is now 43 years since the Whiddy Island disaster. Despite 51 deaths, we cannot respect that and fix our regulations. Along with a State apology, to be agreed with the Whiddy Island families, there also needs to be an urgent root and branch review of Ireland's current failure to implement international maritime regulations to give these people due respect. Sadly, lives continue to be lost in maritime accidents in our State, including in my constituency, Clare, due to our failure to adhere to international law and ensure proper regulations are followed. Urgent change is required. We now have a chance to enact legislation on the back of the Clinch report to address our appalling shortcomings in this area which sadly continue to result in a needless loss of life.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Carey. In regard to meeting the Whiddy Island families, I would of course be happy to meet them, as would the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, if any request was made to my office to do so. I again want to say that any request from the families will of course be considered by all Departments involved, taking account of the report of the tribunal of inquiry and any subsequent information available.

Maritime safety is a key concern of my Department. There have been great changes in the maritime sector generally in terms of technology and updated safety procedures over the past number of years. My Department is committed to ensuring the safety of the sector and all of those who work in it. More recently, a review of maritime regulations was undertaken in 2020 and earlier this year my Department published its strategy for the next five years for the Irish Maritime Directorate, which includes actions to progress the development of maritime safety legislation. Work is ongoing with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel on an amendment to the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) Act 2000, which was subject to extensive pre-legislative scrutiny earlier this year. It is hoped to progress this Bill through the autumn session.

As I also mentioned, the independent report into the organisational structures underpinning marine casualty investigation in Ireland is currently being considered by my Department. It is worth noting that, simultaneous to the review, officials in the Department of Transport ran a public consultation is between March and May of this year and the submissions received on foot of this consultation were provided in full to Captain Clinch to inform his review. Finally, I would like to once again express my sincere condolences to those affected by the Whiddy Island disaster.