Joe O'Toole (Independent)

However, as it was bought abroad and imported, it would be hard to show the exact steps that one went through to buy it, if I had to prove where it came from. One can state where one paid for it and where one put the money. However, boats should be registered. There should be an Irish registration and more importantly, the Irish registration should be part of a European registration.

I have been on boats on the inland and coastal waters of different European countries and there is no consistency. Different rules and regulations exist and in most places one could almost make up papers. Waterways Ireland will find this to be very interesting and entertaining but the only registration document which I possess for my boat is a Shannon licence for being on the waterways of Ireland. Consequently, I have a piece of paper with a number on it from Waterways Ireland, as should all boats on the Shannon.

At one stage, I took my boat abroad and that was the piece of paper I showed, as it was the only piece of paper that I could find. People were happy enough with it. It was in English and as people did not know what it contained, the number was taken and written down.

There is also a hull number on the boat which Lloyds have stamped on every hull that is made. Certain registrations are already happening. Most well-made boats have a hull number which is approved by Lloyds. The phrase used is "made under Lloyds". Consequently, a number is already available which can be followed through in some cases.

The Minister of State's Department should create an easy method to register a boat in the same way as a car, whereby one takes the engine number, the hull number, where it came from, where it was made and the year, registers the number and puts it on the side. All boats in Holland, France and Germany be they for inland waterways or the sea, have registration numbers, no matter how small they are. This is something that we should also do.

The lack of a number also facilitates crime. In recent times, in a number of locations along the Shannon and at sea, boats have been stolen. It is very difficult to trace a boat that does not have a number on it. The Minister and I were both raised in fishing towns and every fishing boat has had a number on it for as long as I can remember. It is very strange that pleasure craft in Ireland do not have numbers. We need a measure for pleasure craft. I apologise for belabouring the issue but it is important in terms of safety, taxation, imports and exports and the regulation of the industry to know how boats are bought and sold, where they are placed, who owns them, where they are and where they have travelled.

Section 18 also contains the idea of regulating for master's or owner's certificates of boats. The House must forgive my use of sexist terminology; we must find a new term as, unfortunately, that is still the term used. Most people now pursue courses or obtain certificates through sailing clubs or groups. It is time for somebody to put it all together. One of Senator O'Rourke's neighbours in Hodson Bay gives training in the use of boats. It is not difficult to demand that people who are going to own a boat undergo training at some stage to show they are fit to do so. I would like the Minister of State to address the issues of the registration of pleasure craft and the regulation of the certificate of competency given to the owners of boats.