Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

A Chathaoirligh, tá áthas orm deis a bheith agam an Bille seo a chur faoi bhráid an tSeanaid inniu. The Bill is essentially technical in nature and gives effect in Irish law to the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in connection with the carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea 1996 — the HNS Convention. The Bill also gives effect to the 1996 Protocol to the International Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 — LLMC 1976.

The main objective of the HNS Convention is to provide adequate, prompt and effective compensation for loss or damage arising in connection with the carriage of hazardous and noxious waste on sea-going ships. The convention complements arrangements which have been in place since 1969 regarding civil liability and compensation with regard to oil pollution. The Oil Pollution of the Sea (Civil Liability and Compensation) Acts 1988 to 2003 give effect to those arrangements in Irish law.

The HNS Convention is to apply to loss of life or personal injury, loss of or damage to property, environmental damage and costs of preventative measures. The LLMC 1976 establishes the basis on which claims may be made arising out of the various risks accompanying maritime transport. It also establishes how they may be prosecuted and sets maximum aggregate limits depending on the tonnage of vessel in question for claims arising from any one incident.

The Merchant Shipping (Liability of Shipowners and Others) Act 1996 gives effect to LLMC 1976 in Irish law. The 1996 hazardous and noxious substances conference considered, however, that these limits would not be sufficient to provide adequate compensation for claims likely to arise under the new HNS Convention and contemporaneously agreed the proposed protocol which would increase the limits.

The effect of the Bill is to require Irish vessels everywhere and non-Irish vessels within a 200 mile nautical limit — in accordance with the terms of the HNS Convention — which are carrying hazardous and noxious substances, as defined, to carry compulsory insurance for the amount they may be liable to pay in compensation for any loss and damage caused by those substances. These are listed in the convention and include such materials as liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied natural gas, oils and fats, combustible chemicals and solvents but exclude radioactive materials which are covered under a separate convention. The deliberate discharge of any of these materials into the sea is already a criminal offence under the Sea Pollution Acts 1991 to 1999. The Bill provides for enforcement by, among others, the Garda, Defence Forces and harbour masters.

Penalties for non-compliance with the compulsory insurance requirements are twofold. On summary conviction, the penalty is a fine not exceeding €3,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or on conviction on indictment, the penalty is a fine not exceeding €1,270,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both. These penalties are similar to those set out in sea pollution legislation.

The Bill extends Irish civil law jurisdiction to the matters covered by the convention and protocol so that parties here, including the State, can invoke the convention in Irish courts in claiming compensation under it in the first instance from the shipowner and, in the final analysis, from an international fund established under the convention and funded by a levy on imports of the materials in question into states which are party to the convention.

A shipowner may limit his or her liability to the amount prescribed in the convention and fireproof his or her vessel against arrest by lodging security for that amount with the court. This amount varies according to the tonnage of the vessel but is in any event limited to 100 million standard drawing rights which is equivalent to approximately €120 million. Standard drawing rights is an international unit of currency and up to 250 million SDR compensation is available in all under the proposed arrangements in respect of any one incident.

The two-tier compensation arrangement mirrors that which applies to oil pollution. As with oil, contributions to the international fund are to be made by those who import the substances in question. On the basis of available information it is not expected that contributions from Irish importers to the fund will be significant.

The definitions and descriptions set out in the convention were agreed and adopted following consideration by experts at the International Maritime Organisation. Senators will note that for ease of reference a copy of the HNS Convention is set out in Schedule 1 and the LLMC in Schedule 2 of the Bill. The Bill, however, must be viewed in the context of the legislative and other measures which have been introduced over the past 15 years or thereabouts.

The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources has adopted as a strategic goal the protection and preservation of the marine environment. Central to this strategy is the protection of the overall marine ecosystem, maintenance of the highest standards in the quality of our marine waters, prevention of pollution at sea around our coasts and the provision of a rapid response to pollution incidents so as to minimise damage.

The Government is anxious that our legislation complies with accepted European Union and international standards while addressing specific Irish concerns. Accordingly, it and the Department recognise that action at EU and international level is an essential element of any strategy for the protection of the marine environment and to that end they continue to participate fully in the activities of relevant organisations, including the International Maritime Organisation, the OSPAR Commission and the Bonn Convention.

Legislative and other measures which have been introduced to protect the marine environment are subject to continuing review at national, EU and international levels with a view to improving the arrangements in place. This process was given added urgency following the Erika incident off the coast of France in December 1999 and further accelerated following the Prestige disaster off the coast of Spain in November 2002.

Measures have been agreed or are under consideration on the regulation of ship classification societies, the accelerated phasing-out of single-hull oil tankers, the strengthening of port State control measures, ship reporting arrangements, sanctions on ship-source pollution and increased compensation levels for victims of pollution by oil tankers.

In August 2002, the European Maritime Safety Agency was established by regulation to ensure a high, uniform and effective level of maritime safety and prevention of ships within the EU. The agency will enable the Commission to offer the full range of professional services needed to discharge its duties in this regard. All EU member states are represented on the board of the agency. In 2003, Belgium, France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom presented to the International Maritime Organisation a joint request to designate certain maritime areas as particularly sensitive sea areas, PSSAs, to strengthen its protection of particularly vulnerable areas. The limit of the proposed PSSAs coincides with the 15th meridian, the Porcupine Bank, including parts of the special waters of north-west European zone as defined under the MARPOL Convention, the English Channel and coastal waters and certain parts of pollution response areas and exclusive economic zones along the Spanish, French and Portuguese coasts. The aim of the exercise is to protect our marine environment and coastline from oil spills by discouraging vessels from entering into the PSSA.

The PSSA was approved by the International Maritime Organisation in October 2004. A reporting system for tankers was accepted by the International Maritime Organisation's navigation committee and was formally adopted as a legal mandatory reporting system in December 2004. The system enters into force on 1 July 2005. Legislation has been introduced to keep abreast of these many developments such as the Oil Pollution of the Sea (Civil Liability and Compensation) Acts 1988 to 2003, giving effect to international conventions for civil liability and compensation. The latest of these in 2003 increased almost six-fold the amount of compensation available to victims. It also enabled the State to become a party to the protocol which established a supplementary fund. Ireland was one of eight States that enabled the protocol enter into force in March 2005.

The Sea Pollution Act 1991 enabled Ireland to ratify MARPOL 73/78, the International Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Ships. The Act also gives effect in the State to the protocol relating to intervention on the high seas in cases of pollution by substances other than oil. Regulations to give effect to MARPOL were introduced in 1994 and updated in 1997, 2002 and 2003. The Sea Pollution (Amendment) Act 1999 gives effect to the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation 1990. The Act provides for the preparation of oil pollution emergency plans by harbour authorities, operators of offshore installations, oil handling facilities and for their submission to the Minister for approval. It also provides that the Minister may direct a local authority to prepare and submit such a plan for approval. The Dumping at Sea Act 1996 gives effect to the OSPAR Convention. The Act also specifically prohibits the dumping of certain materials at sea.

In December 2000, the European Union adopted a directive on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residues. Its purpose is to improve the availability and use of port reception facilities for such waste. Regulations were introduced in March 2003, as required by the EU, to give effect to the directive in Irish law. The Department is liaising with port authorities on its implementation. The European Communities (Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Information System) Regulations 2004 (SI 81 of 2004) gives effect to Directive 2002/59/EC in that regard.

The Sea Pollution (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003, also before the Oireachtas, enables the State to give effect to several internationally agreed instruments namely, a protocol to OPRC adopted at International Maritime Organisation in March 2000 and the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage 2001. This convention was adopted to build on the instruments in place for the pollution from oil tankers and hazardous substances. Other instruments include Annexe VI to MARPOL (Air Pollution from Ships) and the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships 2001.

The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic, OSPAR, came into force internationally in March 1998 following ratification by all contracting parties. OSPAR deals with different aspects of marine pollution ranging from radioactive substances to offshore industries to biodiversity. The OSPAR Commission meets annually and meetings of committees of expert groups are held as required regarding the different aspects of work. OSPAR's work is of interest to several Government Departments and agencies. The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, are joint lead Departments for the purposes of OSPAR. Ireland will host the OSPAR Commission meeting in Malahide, County Dublin, next month.

OSPAR carried out a major assessment of the status of the marine environment of the north-east Atlantic Ocean and published its findings in December 2000. The quality status report describes the main impact of human activities on the marine environment and evaluates the effectiveness of measures already implemented to tackle them. The publication of the report follows assessments carried out at national and regional levels in the previous two years. For this purpose, the OSPAR area was divided into five regions. Ireland and the UK were responsible for preparing an assessment for region Ill, known as the Celtic Seas region. In the first instance, Ireland prepared its own quality status report. This involved several Departments and agencies and was published by the Marine Institute in 1999. The second stage involved a joint UK-lreland quality status report for the region. The final stage of the process involved fusion of all five regional reports into a single quality status report for the entire area.

The assessment found that the Irish marine environment was generally in a healthy state but that there was no room for complacency. Particular attention must be paid to the scale of coastal development, pollution from rivers, sewage disposal and the atmosphere. It is proposed that the next quality status report be completed by 2010.

The transport of nuclear materials by sea is a matter of concern to the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. Senators will be aware that Government policy is to oppose the Sellafield MOX facility. Accordingly, the Department has co-operated with other Departments and agencies on the legal proceedings taken in recent years against the facility. However, while it remains operational, it is the Department's policy to ensure maritime transport is conducted in accordance with international rules and best available practice for guaranteeing safety at sea and prevention of pollution of the marine environment. My Department's main concern is to ensure that the vessels concerned do not pass through waters under Ireland's jurisdiction, and the UK authorities have given assurances that they will not. The UK authorities have also stressed that voyages by such vessels are kept to a minimum and are already limited to one or two per year. The Department's other concern is to ensure that the highest possible levels of safety are applied both in terms of the vessels employed and the operational requirements applied to them.

Bilateral arrangements are in place with both the UK and France that Ireland will be notified in advance of shipment dates, the nature of cargoes and all other relevant details. We have also been advised that none of these routes involves passage through the territorial waters of any state and that if such passage were considered necessary, the state or states involved would be notified in advance. I am pleased to confirm that to date, vessels did not enter waters under Ireland's jurisdiction.

The report of the task force on the dumping of radioactive materials in the maritime area was published in January 2000. Its key conclusion was that the risk to human health and to marine life from past radioactive dumping is extremely low and does not constitute a health hazard. The Government shares the concerns of many members of the public in this regard and is anxious that they should be allayed as far as possible. The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, together with the universities, is continuing with monitoring and other work in this sphere.

Returning to the Bill now before us, a diplomatic conference convened by the IMO adopted the HNS Convention in May 1996. The convention has not yet entered into force and will not do so until 18 months after both of the following criteria have been fulfilled: At least 12 states must have expressed their consent to be bound by the convention, through ratification or accession. This must include four states, each with a registered fleet of at least 2 million units of gross tonnage — more than five times the size of the Irish fleet; and contributors in the states that have ratified or acceded to the convention must, between them, receive a minimum of 40 million tonnes of contributing cargo covered by the general account.

Periodically, informal meetings have been held to discuss the implementation of the HNS Convention. A workshop for interested parties is to be held in London next month. States attending these meetings agreed that it would be desirable to co-ordinate their ratification of the convention. EU member states have been urged to prepare the necessary legislation in this regard as soon as possible. I am committed to complying with this request, not least to ensure, in view of the importance of our marine resource, that Ireland is in a position to benefit from the terms of the convention as soon as it comes into force.

As has been emphasised in the recent studies to which I have referred, there is no room for complacency as far as the protection of the marine environment is concerned. We must continue to build on our achievements in order to get the full benefit of the measures we have introduced. The Bill now before us is an important part of the process of advancement undertaken at national, EU and international level in order to protect the quality of the marine environment.

Tá fhios agam go bhfuil suim ag gach Seanadóir i gcúrsaí comhshaoil mara. Mar sin, molaim an Bille seo go láidir daoibh go léir.