Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Malcolm Byrne for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Naughton, who is currently attending Cabinet. I recognise many of the significant points made by the Senator. He attended in Waterford last Friday afternoon, when we celebrated 20 years of the search and rescue service in the south east located at Waterford regional airport. We must achieve the right balance. We have seen the amount of search and rescue requests at sea and inland, and these are coupled with the supports provided by the Garda and other bodies that help people who may get lost on mountains or whatever. There is a huge range of supports in place and we must be very conscious of that.

The Minister of State informs me a range of control mechanisms relating to the regulation of jet skis exist under the Maritime Safety Act 2005. The Act strengthened the law against improper use of certain personal watercraft and recreational craft, and promotes good practice in the operation of vessels generally. Section 6 in Part 2 of the Maritime Safety Act 2005 allows local authorities, harbour authorities and Waterways Ireland to make by-laws to regulate or control the operation of craft or specified classes of craft, including jet skis, in waters under their control or management or in their functional areas.

The prohibition or restriction of jet skis may be general or in specified places and in the interests of the safety of persons using waters at certain times, or for the prevention of nuisance or injury to persons or damage to watercraft or other property on the waters. It may also be for the protection of a natural heritage area or protected monument. The by-laws may also address matters relating to launching, mooring or berthing craft, the conditions to be observed by operators of craft or maximum speed limits at which craft may be operated.

Section 6 of the Act also includes an offence and penalty regime for persons who operate a craft in contravention of a by-law made under the section. The penalties are, on summary conviction, a fine not exceeding €1,000 for a first offence or not exceeding €2,000 for a second or subsequent offence. I take on board the Senator's points about ensuring these by-laws are enforced.

The Act recognises that the conditions and issues can vary in different parts of the country. Therefore, it is a matter for the individual by-law making authorities to assess the particular circumstances in their area and decide on the appropriate response. There are general enforcement provisions contained in the 2005 Act that allow An Garda Síochána or authorised persons to act in particular circumstances. These include requiring the ceasing of the operation of craft, the seizure of craft in the interests of safety and other enforcement actions. I accept that the only reason the Senator is raising this matter is from a health and safety perspective and he is not trying to stop anyone enjoying the water or the beautiful beaches we have. We are very lucky to live on an island with fabulous and spectacular beaches.

The Senator indicates there is no provision under the Merchant Shipping Act for the licensing of jet skis. The provision of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Act 2014, when fully commenced, will assist in the identification of owners of jet skis for enforcement purposes. An extension of mandatory registration to additional ship categories, including personal watercraft such as jet skis, is proposed for the future when the new ship registration regime is rolled out. However, this will take some time as the full commencement of the Act requires the establishment of a new electronic ship register and registration regime, which will be progressed under a separate information technology project. There will be new ship registration regulations to complement and align with the registration information technology project. It is one of the Senator's main concerns that these craft are not registered currently.