Brendan Daly (Fianna Fail)

On the last occasion the Minister of State was here, we raised the issue of the boats coming from the United States to the United Kingdom. Perhaps this issue was raised before I came in but it is the cause of much concern, especially in coastal areas. It appears these ghost ships or whatever one wishes to call them, which are in ports in the United Kingdom, may go back to the United States. I would like some assurance from the Minister of State that we have legislation to deal with this situation, especially when such ships are outside our territorial area. What type of surveillance is being kept by the Irish authorities in terms of the passage of these vessels, especially their passage back to the United States which will come very close to the Irish coastline? Is surveillance taking place? Is there legislation capable of dealing with this situation, especially in the event of a crisis?