Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his introductory remarks.

This Bill has been bandied about for more than four years, which is not good enough. The Bill should have been on the Statute Book before now.

The Bill transposes a number of international commitments into Irish law and highlights the Government's contempt for keeping our promises to our neighbours. I note the Minister of State said that 12 states must ratify the convention before it can be adopted. He mentioned a meeting on the matter to be held in London. Accordingly, we are not the only state to have dishonoured our word to our neighbours in this regard, and I look forward to a successful outcome to the meeting in London.

The Bill gives effect to the 1996 International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage Associated with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, more easily referred to as the HNS Convention. The Bill also allows the taking of effect of the 1996 protocol to the 1976 International Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, LLMC. The HNS Convention complements existing arrangements in place since 1969 regarding civil liability and compensation with regard to oil pollution. The Oil Pollution of the Sea Acts 1988 to 1998 gave effect in Irish law to those international arrangements whereby limits were established for ship owners' liability and an international compensation fund was set up to pay the costs of damages caused by oil pollution from bulk tankers.

The basic terms were that the ship owner would pay up to a certain limit, depending on the tonnage of the ship concerned, and the balance would be met by the compensation fund made up from the contributions from importers of substantial quantities of oil. The HNS Convention we are seeking to put into Irish law will do roughly the same for hazardous and noxious substances being transported by sea, as the Oil Pollution of the Sea Bill has achieved in the past.

At first glance, this looks like long and complicated legislation, but much of the Bill's content is taken up by the printing of the international convention itself. Only the first 18 pages of the Bill deal with implementation under Irish law. Ireland is an island nation heavily dependent on trade for its existence. Many of the bulk imports and exports of the country are transported by sea. This trade includes hazardous and noxious substances. In the HNS Convention, as outlined, hazardous and noxious substances are defined under clear headings, for example, oil carried in bulk, noxious liquid substances, dangerous liquids, liquified gases, liquid substances with a flash point exceeding 600° Celsius, solid bulk materials possessing chemical hazards, residues from previously carried substances, etc. For those concerned about radioactive materials, they are covered under the Sea Pollution Acts 1991 to 1999, as the Minister pointed out.

Let us be clear about the issue of hazardous and noxious substances. Ireland has responsibility for 240,000 square miles of sea, roughly 17% of European waters. We are responsible for more waters than any other European country. We are an island close to commercial traffic and shipping lanes. Irish waters are used on a daily basis by merchant shipping, the majority of which merely passes through. Along with ships coming and going from Irish ports, this makes up a significant number of vessels, and the potential risk of spillage or accident is always there.

Although many people do not realise it, we are a maritime nation. The sea around us is the most valuable resource we have. This Bill is an opportunity to give some protection to that resource by putting in place a legislative framework to pay the necessary compensation should an incident occur involving loss of life or personal injury, loss or damage to property or environmental damage, which involve significant costs. Under the legislation, the level of compensation to be paid can be decided by conventional action through the High Court only.

The amount of compensation and the arrangements for payment will be as follows. The ship owner will have some liability which will depend on the size of his or her vessel. A maximum figure of approximately €140 million can be paid by the ship owner's insurance cover. The remainder of the compensation, if required, will come from a compensation fund set up internationally and financed by the annual contributions from individual companies trading in materials covered under the HNS Convention.

Irish companies will not have to pay substantial amounts although they may have to make some contribution towards the fund. This fund can be called upon to pay up to a maximum of €350 million, a substantial sum. In some tragic cases no sum could make up for the environmental damage caused by certain spillages.

There are real concerns regarding enforcement of the legislation. It is right that the legislation gives Irish authorities the ability to stop and board vessels if there is reasonable concern. The Minister will have the right to appoint suitable inspectors to do that job. At present, those inspectors are the Naval Service and, if a ship is in port, the Garda and harbour masters could be involved. There is concern about the capacity of a fleet of eight naval vessels, only four or five of which are at sea at any one time, to do the work required for this as well as the work that must be done in regard to fisheries, illegal drug trafficking and basic sea safety legislation.

Fine Gael has welcomed the severity of fines in regard to enforcement of the law once inspection has taken place. We also welcome the fact that ship owners can be imprisoned for up to ten years when their ships do not comply with basic legislation such as that all ships carrying hazardous and noxious substances must have a compulsory insurance certificate, must keep up-to-date logs, must provide samples of the substances they carry and so forth.

This legislation is necessary for practical reasons. The liability for the shipping of noxious and hazardous substances needs to be limited because insurance would not be affordable if it was not for the creation of an international fund to pay the potentially high compensation. The commercial viability of shipping also needs to be balanced with environmental protection. That is important and it is in Ireland's interest that we ensure this legislation is put in place not just in this country but in other European countries. Perhaps that will flow from the London meeting to which the Minister referred.

The Minister must do what he can to encourage other European countries to put this legislation into their domestic legal structures. This convention cannot come into practice until, as the Minister pointed out, at least 12 countries have signed up to it. Europe should be leading the way, as it has done with other international environmental concerns. I appeal to the Minister of State to raise this issue at European meetings to ensure other countries do what we have done in terms of implementing the convention in domestic law.

In the marine sector, we should also make life as difficult as possible when shipments of nuclear waste come through the Irish Sea. The term"nuclear fuel highway" is one which will alarm many Irish people who are concerned about the nuclear issue. We need to do everything we can to frustrate and make life as difficult as possible for those who promote the idea of the Irish Sea becoming a highway for nuclear fuel, even if it is only on rare occasions. Recently, we witnessed how dangerous Sellafield is and I subscribe to everything the Minister said in regard to our continued opposition to it.

There is an irony in the fact that the pellets containing the radioactive material which were transported through the Irish Sea had been sent to Japan and then sent back. This means they had traversed the Irish Sea needlessly on two occasions. The irony of that should not be lost on the Government and legislators. The Minister should do what he can on this issue and we will support him where possible. We will also be critical where we believe he is not applying sufficient political pressure.

The sea surrounding our island is the greatest resource we have. It is not utilised enough, although its use is increasing. Resources under and in the sea can be used to much greater benefit but they must also be treasured and protected. This legislation is a small step towards doing that. For that reason I welcome it and look forward to discussing it in detail on Committee Stage.