Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

There is nothing contentious in this Bill, the provisions of which are welcome. It is very appropriate that persons affected by oil pollution damage be properly compensated. That is what this matter is about. I hope the Acting Chairman and the Minister of State will allow me the liberty, as today is the last sitting day of the Seanad this week and as the Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Browne, is present, to note that commemorative services are being held tomorrow at Dún Laoghaoire and Holyhead to remember those who died on the mail boat, the RMS Leinster. Tomorrow is the 85th anniversary of the sinking of that ship on 10 October 1918 with 771 passengers and crew on board.

The ship was commanded by Captain William Birch, a Dubliner who had settled in Holyhead. The crew was drawn mainly from the towns of Dún Laoghaire and Holyhead. The majority of passengers happened to be military personnel who were either on leave or returning from leave during the First World War. The ship was struck by a torpedo fired by a German submarine, the UB-123, and 501 people on the RMS Leinster died as a result, representing the highest ever loss of life on the Irish Sea and the highest ever casualty rate on an Irish-owned ship. The German submarine was subsequently also lost along with its crew, the average age of whose members was between 19 and 20. I felt it important because of the date to record that in the House. This year is the first time ever that the towns of Dún Laoghaire and Holyhead are remembering all those who died on the RMS Leinster and the UB-123. It would be appropriate for this House to note the commemorative services and, for the first time since its establishment, take formal note of the grief suffered by families from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Germany whose members died in the disaster on that day.