Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, to the House. I welcome the legislation. As I am standing in for our transport spokesperson I am speaking from a position where I knew very little about this area until I started to read up on the Bill. I was surprised by just how necessary the Bill is and the number of gaps in the current system in terms of maritime safety law. As Senator Ned O'Sullivan has said, the Bill deserves congratulation and commendation from both sides of the House. Clearly, it is important that these measures are introduced to improve the governance of our maritime registration and, more generally, to improve maritime safety. I should say that a specific area of law, namely, admiralty law, is devoted to this issue. I am informed it is a lucrative and very complex area of law. I had friends in England who practised exclusively in the law of the sea, in admiralty law. For any lay person it is easy to understand the purpose of the Bill, which is to replace the old system of registration of ships broadly defined with a new centralised register of ships and, in doing so remedy the gaps that have been exposed in the maritime legislation which dates back to the 1950s and which is clearly flawed.

At present we do not have power to remove unsafe or unsuitable ships from the Irish register. That issue will now be addressed in section 21. There is no provision currently for renewal of registration. The penalties are outdated with a maximum fine under current law of €635 which will be increased to the much more appropriate level of €5,000, a class A fine. I understand that until now, only Irish citizens could register whereas the new Bill will allow EU citizens to do so. What came as a surprise to me was that hitherto registration has not been centralised and that we have a system of paper records, generated over 11 areas, from which it is very difficult to generate data. Senator Barrett mentioned the figure provided by the Minister of 3,200 ships currently registered. Clearly, there could be a multiple of that figure which will now be registered under the new system but it will be much easier to access the data on these ships.

Through the system of improved registration and improved governance we will be able to address issues of maritime safety and the terrible record of accidents at sea. I looked at some of the figures from 2002 and 2012 which showed that there were 123 deaths in maritime transport on the sea but also on our inland waterways which can be very dangerous. I looked again at those figures and learned that 90% of those deaths occurred in the two highest risk categories, 46% in fishing vessels and 44% in recreational craft. The sad truth is that many of those deaths are preventable through better measures in maritime safety. I spent a lovely weekend at the lakes in Cavan from where I have just returned. There, one sees how important the tourism of inland waterways and angling is to the Irish economy. Therefore, it is very important that we ensure proper safety and proper systems of registration for visitors as well as Irish based craft. I note what Senator Pat O'Neill said earlier about minimum requirements for people piloting boats. I know that people who hire boats on the Erne or the Shannon or barges on the canals are given basic training. The training or the basic requirements should not be overly onerous for someone to drive a boat. Can that issue be addressed in legislation like this or is that beyond the remit of a Bill such as this?

As to what the Bill covers, it is clear that section 2 will apply to all ships. Like Senator Pat O'Neill, I wonder if car ferries are included. I am aware there is a provision in section 2 about international journeys which will clearly cover the journeys taken by most car ferries. Rowing boats are not covered but speed boats and jet skis are covered.

Again, like other Members, I greatly welcome the extension of registration provisions to jet skis because as the Minister observed, the Marine Casualty Investigation Board has highlighted incidents involving jet skis, which indeed caused fatalities. All Members will have seen jet skis engaging in dangerous activity off the coast and on inland lakes and consequently, this measure is important.

Temporary visitors now will be covered and in the scenario in which someone seeks to register but is refused, there now will be provision for an appeal to the District Court. In addition, as the Minister stated, there will be provisions for renewal. Other Members have raised the issue of the registration fee, which the legislation provides will be set by the Minister. However, I understand it is envisaged that ships which already are registered can transfer to the new register for free and there will be a nominal registration fee of less than €50 for visitor registrations. I believe current registration fees for larger ships are between €200 and €250 and I understand this is not to be increased but again, the Minister might address this point in his closing remarks.

As I noted, this Bill is about improving the system of registration, about ensuring a move to online registration and to having easily-accessible data on maritime vessels. However, it also is important to note the improved governance that will result from this legislation. While the Minister stated the Revenue Commissioners will remain in charge of registration on a transitional basis, he might outline when it is envisaged that the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport will take over. I note it is envisaged that a new entity would be created within the Department, namely, the Irish maritime administration. Its purpose to take both the Irish Coast Guard and Marine Survey Office bodies together and I understand this entity will administer the central registration system. In that regard, others also have mentioned the ports of registry and Schedule 3, which refers to the 13 existing ports of registry. However, as the Minister highlighted in his own contribution, it is envisaged in sections 30 and 31 that these locations may not all be retained as ports of registry. Moreover, there is express provision for removing those where it no longer is warranted that there would be a ship registration office. Is it envisaged that there will be a move to a central registry run by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport? What is the purpose of having specific ports of registry? Will they be virtual entities, more or less, or is it envisaged that there will actually be a physical office? Again, I am unclear as to what will roll out in that regard. I note that for the time being, the 13 ports will be retained in Schedule 3.

Another matter to which reference has been made and which is also extremely welcome is the consultation or review announced by the Minister on safety at sea, with a fairly specific timeframe of between May and October or November. The Minister seeks submissions from anyone interested on how to improve safety at sea, presumably beyond the provisions of this Bill. Would there be room for amendments to this legislation were, for example, submissions to be put forward in respect of matters that are not, but which might be, covered within this Bill and which might improve marine safety? Could this be done through amendments, because it is envisaged that this Bill will have become an Act by the time the public consultation documents will be published?

Senator O'Neill mentioned swimming classes and I agree with him. As a swimmer myself, it is hugely important that children learn to swim on an island nation. I believe it now has been rolled out across primary schools that in second-class, children have swimming lessons provided free by the schools. I believe this is on a national basis and perhaps that should be expanded further. It is just a one-off and does not apply in other years in primary schools. Clearly, this may not be enough for those children who have had no swimming lessons before that. My final point is to pay tribute to the Irish Coast Guard. All Members recognise the extraordinary work it does and figures show that last year was one of the busiest years ever for the Irish Coast Guard. It was called out to more than 2,600 incidents and clearly, a huge amount of work and a great deal of prevention goes on that is unseen by many of us but which contributes to the prevention of the sort of awful accidents and injuries that have been witnessed in the past. In conclusion, all Members welcome this Bill, which clearly will do a great deal to improve the governance of the maritime system, as well as to improve safety at sea and on inland waterways.