David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank the Cathaoirleach for giving me the opportunity to discuss this important issue. Fishermen being lost at sea is a major issue on the south-eastern and southern coast of Ireland, as it is across the entire country. We have lost many fishermen all around Ireland and I know many families personally who have been affected by this in the south east.

One only needs to consider the grief and sorrow left in the wake of tragedies such as the Tit Bonhomme, the Honey Dew IIand others. More needs to be done to ensure the safety of our fishermen. It is clear that the first few hours are crucial in finding fishermen alive - or finding them at all - after they have gone overboard. If we are able to track them or find them via GPS in those first few crucial hours, many lives could be saved. Deputy Colreavy asked a parliamentary question on this matter in March. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport replied:

Currently all Irish registered fishing vessels are required to be fitted with Emergency Indicating Position Beacons (EPIRBs). All fishing vessels over 12 metres in length must carry an automatically activating float-free automatic EPIRB and vessels less than 12 metres LOA (length over all) only have to carry a manually operated EPIRB.

The Minister indicated in March that officials from his Department were examining, in conjunction with Bord Iascaigh Mhara, issues relating to the carriage of personal locator beacons, PLBs, by fishermen as an enhancement to existing measures. He said they would be assessing the effectiveness of such electronic devices when used in conjunction with existing safety measures such as lifejackets and personal floatation devices. In the seven months since this was raised in the Dáil, what progress has been made on these PLB systems?

According to the Fishing Vessel (Personal Flotation Devices) Regulations 2001 every fishing vessel must carry a suitable personal flotation device for every person on board, and the personal flotation device must be worn at all times by the crew of the fishing vessel when on the exposed deck of the vessel, whether at sea, in harbour or coming to and from moorings.

A personal locator beacon, PLB, is a small transmitter that gives the position of the person but it is not as powerful as an EPIRB - the equipment for the boat itself. A PLB is often worn like a watch by divers. Surely it should not be too difficult for flotation devices, generally life jackets, to have PLB devices or some other form of similar system with a small device on the life jacket? The Government should take steps to ensure that this happens, as it would save lives. It would make it much easier for fishermen to be found in the first few hours. As the Minister of State will know it becomes extremely difficult to locate people or bodies after 24 hours. However, it is highly likely that they would be found within that time, and before they have sunk, and indeed could often be found within an hour or two.

These devices are not expensive and the Government could support their purchase. They can cost as little as ¤120 before VAT. Fishermen have argued that they could be exempt from VAT or that grant aid could be provided. The devices can fit into a pocket, or be worn around the neck or wrist. If fishermen had such devices on their person and if someone were to go overboard or the boat sank and the emergency crew got there within a couple of hours, they would be able to find the bodies. It would obviously assist in locating and saving the lives of people who have gone overboard. However, even when families experience the tragedy of the loss of a life, it can take days or weeks to locate the body - sometimes the body is never found. If modern devices can be used to improve the systems, then tragedies such as the recent one off the coast of Union Hall and others could be avoided.

What steps can the Department take to assist in this regard? We should use new advanced technology to improve the safety for fishermen. We should have the same types of safety measures in place for fishermen as we provide for passengers in cars and aeroplanes.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I am taking this Adjournment debate on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar. I thank the Senator for the opportunity to address this issue today. Currently all Irish-registered fishing vessels are required to be fitted with emergency indicating position beacons, EPIRBs. All fishing vessels over 12 m in length must carry an automatically activating float-free EPIRB and vessels less than 12 m length overall only have to carry a manually operated EPIRB. Officials from my Department are examining, in conjunction with Bord Iascaigh Mhara, issues relating to the carriage of personal locator beacons by fishermen as an enhancement to existing measures.

Arising from discussions last week, further work is being done by my officials in conjunction with BIM officials who work under the auspices of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, on initiatives to enhance the safety of Irish fishing vessels. As a first priority, it is intended to incentivise the provision of automatic float-free GPS-enabled EPIRB beacons for all fishing vessels. This will address a key safety recommendation made in a number of Marine Casualty Investigation Board reports into the loss of fishing vessels, where such a vessel beacon could have contributed significantly to rescue efforts.

A second priority will be to encourage the use of personal locator beacons for fishermen on all Irish-registered fishing vessels. These personal locator beacons are designed and operated in accordance with recognised international standards and will be required to be registered with the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg. It is intended that my Department will take measures with a view to making the provision of personal locator beacons and vessel beacons mandatory under appropriate legislation and my Department's code of practice for the safety of fishing vessels less than 15 m. In implementing this initiative on personal locator beacons, provision will be made for maximum flexibility to allow for whether such beacons are separate from, or integrated into lifejackets.

I cannot emphasise enough the importance of wearing lifejackets at all times on the water. Statutory requirements on the wearing of lifejackets and personal flotation devices on fishing vessels are set out in the Fishing Vessel (Personal Flotation Devices) Regulations 2001 as amended by the Fishing Vessel (Personal Flotation Devices)(Amendment) Regulations 2008. Under the regulations, every fishing vessel is required to carry a suitable personal flotation device for every person on board. The personal flotation device shall be worn at all times by the crew of the fishing vessel, when on the exposed deck of the vessel or, in the case of open undecked vessels, on board the vessel, whether at sea, in harbour or coming to and from moorings.

Furthermore, the regulations require that the skipper of a fishing vessel shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that all crewmembers wear a personal flotation device in accordance with the regulations. The Merchant Shipping Act 1992 provides that if there is a contravention of these regulations, the owner and, if the vessel is in use, the master of the vessel are each guilty of an offence and each is liable on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding ¤5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or both.

The requirement for a personal flotation device to be available on-board for all crewmembers is checked as part of the safety surveys that all commercial fishing vessels are required to undertake. The requirements for the wearing of personal flotation devices are also communicated to fishermen during these surveys. In addition, guidance on the selection of personal flotation devices for use on board fishing vessels is conveyed through the issuing of marine notices from my Department.

A final important element of an integrated safety technology package for vessel beacons and for personal locator beacons will be a link to training. My Department is working with BIM to develop appropriate training and refresher training to enable fishermen to gain maximum benefit from these technological enhancements to personal safety in the fishing industry. It is expected to implement the new integrated package on a phased basis as part of the existing BIM fleet safety scheme.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome that, as per the Minister of State's reply, the Minister and Department intend to introduce legislation which will make personal locator and vessel beacons mandatory and further to introduce a code of practice for the safety of fishing vessels of less than 15 metres, which is a significant improvement in terms of where we were on this six months ago. It is hoped the relevant legislation will be brought forward as quickly as possible.

These devices work in depths of up to 22 metres. Some of the bodies found on, for example, the Tit Bonhomme were down about 12 m, which shows that these devices can save lives. The Minister will have the support of Sinn Féin and, I am sure, of all other public and elected representatives in terms of the introduction of any legislation to make these devices mandatory. This is about saving lives and ensuring people who earn a living, often in dangerous situations, are properly protected. The introduction of the proposed measures would be a huge step forward for the industry. I welcome the moves being made in this area.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Senator is correct that any life lost at sea is one life too many. I agree with him that the situation at Union Hall was sad for the families concerned. It is important all precautions are taken to ensure safety at sea, including by way of regulation or legislation, as has been done in the area of road safety. Earning one's living on the sea is difficult. Those who do so take serious risks. Anything that can be done to assist in the location of bodies following tragedies at sea would be good for families and communities. It is hoped the relevant legislation will be introduced as quickly as possible.