Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious of the time. I know many people have made contributions and I will endeavour to address some. I thank Senators for their consideration of the Bill and the contributions which they made. As I indicated in my opening statement, the Bill will update and clarify the law relating to maritime jurisdiction of the State in a single, accessible, stand-alone enactment, describing the different maritime zones of national jurisdiction recognised by international law. It sets out the State's jurisdictional rights in each of them and confers the power on the Government to delineate them in domestic law. How the State decides to exercise those jurisdictional rights is left to separate legislation. That is important. To address a number of Senators' contributions, this is consolidating legislation. I know that many issues were raised in different areas but this is consolidation legislation.

The Bill seeks to clarify the criminal jurisdiction at sea. The Maritime Jurisdiction Bill has a narrow jurisdictional focus and it is a vehicle for regulation of human activities at sea or for laying down detailed routes for protection of the marine environment. This will be done in separate legislation such as has been mentioned in the House already. The maritime area planning Bill and planned legislation will allow us to establish and manage marine protected areas.

I apologise for not being able to get to all the Senators. To comment on some key things mentioned, one matter raised by a number of Senators was pre-legislative scrutiny. It is important to recognise that that was a decision by the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, which waived pre-legislative scrutiny. This was not a request of the Government but a decision of the committee. It is its right, as with any committee, to decide to waive pre-legislative scrutiny.

In my earlier statement, due to time constraints I shortened some of what I was saying. Section 21 provides that UK Hydrographic Office charts may be used in evidence in court proceedings to establish the low water mark and other maritime features relevant to determining the limits of the State’s maritime jurisdiction, so I will say that formally.Overwhelmingly, the question of Rockall was raised as an issue more than any other. The issue of the exclusion of Irish vessels from the 12 mile zone was raised by Senator Kyne and a number of others. To reassure the House, my Department is working closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on this issue. As Senators will be aware, the Government's long-standing position has been that remote rocks in the middle of an ocean that cannot support human habitation should not be the subject of claims of sovereignty by any state. It is for that reason no Government has ever made such a claim and has also never recognised the UK claim to Rockall, which was made in 1955. Traditionally, we have treated the waters around Rockall as part of the UK's exclusive economic zone and, therefore, while the UK was a member of the EU and part of the Union's waters open to vessels of all member states, we did not recognise a 12 mile territorial sea around it. The Government has been in contact, as mentioned by Senator Kyne, with the relevant Scottish and UK authorities about Rockall over recent years, and intensively since the beginning of this year, but clearly this issue has become more complex since Brexit. The Minister for Foreign Affairs discussed this matter directly with his Scottish counterpart, the Cabinet secretary, Mr. Mike Russell, before the recent Scottish elections and contacts have resumed since the election and will continue. We are committed to addressing the issues involved, reflecting the long-standing fisheries tradition in the area. Rockall has been mentioned by many Senators. It is important to recognise in the process of the consolidation the Bill providers for that it does not change anything that is in place. It consolidates everything into a single Bill.

I particularly acknowledge Senator Higgins and the issues that she has put forward. She has tabled a number of amendments and has done some very detailed work in the area, which I commend her on. I thank the Senator for them and we are currently examining them. We will go through these tomorrow on Committee Stage. I am afraid that, given the short time available, it is unlikely that these can be accepted in the Seanad. However, I am prepared to consider the Senator's proposal in the amendment to section 11 on Committee Stage in the Dáil if she can arrange to have it tabled there. I will have to consult prior to that with relevant ministerial colleagues and the Parliamentary Counsel.

I am conscious I have again gone over time and I will conclude.