Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for not coming back on the Clinch and Lacey reports. I will do so now and will address the other issues raised earlier. A number of Senators raised the issue of the wider review of the organisational structure for marine casualty investigation in Ireland and the publication of the Clinchmaritime Limited report. The recommendations of the Clinch report will inform the wider structural reform process that is under way. With regard to publication of the report, there continues to be a number of legal issues that are subject to consultation with the Office of the Attorney General. I want to be very clear that every effort is being made in my Department to resolve these legal issues as quickly as possible. Subject to this and to receipt of the legal advice, a final decision on the publication of the Clinch report will be made. It is important to note that the 2010 Lacey report was not about the independence of the MCIB. That report was initiated at a time when Government was looking at the rationalisation of State agencies. There was a focus on that in Government policy. The purpose of that report was not to examine Ireland's marine casualty investigations structures; rather, it was concerned with the possibility of combining rail, air and marine accident investigation bodies under a single entity and the possible establishment of a multimodal investigative body.

In the context of looking at wider structural issues concerning accident investigation, the matter of a multimodal accident investigation office may well fall to be considered, not through this Bill but at a future date. However, the focus of the current merchant shipping Bill and the next legislative reform proposal is a review of the organisational structures relating to marine casualty investigation. Publication of the Lacey report is under consideration by the Department, and a decision will have regard to the publication of the details of the Clinch report and consultation with the author of the Lacey report, given the passage of time since it was prepared.

The Court of Justice for the European Union judgment related to the presence of two Department of Transport officials on the five-person board of the MCIB, who are seen as persons whose interests could conflict with the task entrusted to the MCIB. There was no claim by the Commission that the MCIB lacked independence with regard to its legal structure and no court finding of partiality or wrongdoing by any member of the board. It is important to state that. The immediate action taken to address that judgment was that the two officials resigned from the board on 30 July, 2020. Amending regulations were made under the European Communities Act 1972 which make it clear that the two officials are no longer board members when it comes to decisions relating to investigations that fall within the scope of the directive.

It is important, going back to the Minister's proposal of a memorandum for Government or Cabinet, that there be a clear plan and indicative timelines for future legislation. The submission of that policy proposal to Government was approved by Cabinet on 29 March and preparation is under way for a new general scheme. There is a clear plan of action in relation to preparing the heads of a new Bill, which will go through the Oireachtas legislative process, including pre-legislative scrutiny through the Oireachtas committee. Subject to Government approval and engagement with the Oireachtas committee and the formal drafting of a new Bill by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to provide for the new marine casualty investigative structure, that should be in place by quarter 3 or 4 of this year. Given that pre-legislative scrutiny of the current Bill by the joint committee took six months, it is unlikely the new Bill could be prepared and submitted for Government approval until quarter 3 or 4. That will require the progression of the legislation through the Houses.

I reassure the Senator of my commitment and that of the Minister to the independence of the new MCIB. We are working through Oireachtas structures, Dáil committees and pre-legislative scrutiny in order to ensure we have a robust, fit-for-purpose MCIB structure in place.