Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach and Senators Ruane and Black for their question. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important topic with Members of the House today on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I tried to get myself up to speed on this issue before the Senators' question. I do not know all the ins and outs of the Act in question or what level of information the Senators have already. We will have to supply some material that I suspect the Senators may have received already.

The important point to start with is that no application has been received by the Marine Survey Office of the Department of Transport or the registration or operation of any vessels regarding the freedom flotilla under the Irish flag. I would like to set out some background information on the operation of ships on the Irish flag. The overall framework is set by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This requires that every state shall effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control in administrative, technical and social matters over ships flying its state flag. In particular, each state shall maintain a register of its ships and assume jurisdiction over its internal law on-board ships flying its flag.In this regard, every state shall ensure the safety of the ship with regard to construction, equipment and seaworthiness, the manning of the ship, labour conditions and the training of its crews. Each state shall therefore survey each ship operating under its flag and at appropriate intervals thereafter to safeguard the ship’s safety and ensure that it is complying with accepted international safety regulations, procedures and practices.

In Ireland, the registration of vessels is regulated under the Mercantile Marine Act 1955 and the Merchant Shipping and Sea Pollution Acts, 1894 to 2022. Nationality requirements apply to prospective registered owners and this currently includes Irish, EU and UK citizens and bodies corporate. Applicants, being the owner of a vessel or their legal representative, must contact a registrar of shipping at their chosen port of registry in relation to satisfying the registration requirements. The application process also requires a tonnage measurement survey, which is carried out by the Department of Transport.

For an existing ship to operate under the Irish flag, it must also be surveyed by the Department to ensure the safety of the vessel and the crew. These technical surveys include a full desktop review of the ship, including its previous operation under other flags and the outcomes of inspections under port state control regimes, to determine the safety status of the ship. The ship will be surveyed for compliance with the relevant international maritime conventions, EU legislation and domestic Irish legislation. The overall process can take several months and depends on the quality of the vessel presented for survey. The survey and assessment also includes an assessment of the crew and their qualifications. The crew must hold certificates of competency that are recognised by Ireland.

The operation of a ship is regulated regarding its use, intended trading areas, as well as matters related to compliance with the procedures of the conventions, including requirements regarding maritime security. This includes setting the security levels on Irish-flagged ships and directing ships in relation to their operations. Ships operating under the Irish flag are subject to compliance with a wider set of Irish legislation than maritime safety alone, including compliance with other applicable Irish civil and criminal law.

Ireland maintains a comprehensive oversight of ships on the Irish flag to ensure that the highest safety standards are maintained, and Ireland is currently among the top performing flag states in the world in respect of vessel safety, as determined by the Paris memorandum of understanding organisation.

In short, no application has been received yet. My understanding is that no decision can be made until a formal application is made. I do not know whether the information I have shared has been in the public domain already, but these are things an applicant will need to be aware of if putting an application forward. Therefore, perhaps in that respect, it is useful; I do not know. I can perhaps give a little more information in the follow-up.