Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senators for their contributions. As I said to Senator O'Meara, I had occasion when I was on holiday after the Erika disaster to see the devastating effects on a beach in south Brittany which is quite a distance from the point where the Erika broke up near Brest. The Prestige disaster has given us an added impetus in our resolve.

At EU level, Ireland has been very much to the fore, particularly during my time as Minister, in pushing for the fast-tracking of the issue in relation to the phasing out of the single-hull tankers. This phasing out has been brought forward quite dramatically. I appreciate that there are countries where this is imposing a much higher onus than for example on Ireland, which does not have a fleet to compare for example with that of Greece, which faces considerable difficulties in fulfilling the commitments on the fast-tracking of the phasing out process. With so many islands in Greece, the transportation of oil from one island to another, if it is to be by double-hull tankers, will create a very significant burden for the Greek authorities.

Not all countries are similar, but Ireland was one of the strong promoters of the initiative and was supported by the vast majority of the other countries in the light of what happened to the Prestige.Regarding the particularly sensitive areas, Ireland has again been to the forefront in promoting their concerns at EU level and subsequently, based on the decision at EU level, will prosecute an application with the IMO in this respect. The results of that will become clear in due course.