Joe Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 83: To ask the Minister for Transport the steps he proposes to take to ratify the recently agreed Bill for rights for seafarers under the International Labour Organisation's 2006 Maritime Labour Convention. [9195/06]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The new Maritime Labour Convention was adopted on 23 February 2006 at the 94th International Labour Organisation in Geneva. Ireland fully supports the new convention and voted in favour of the proposal.

At a national level Ireland has consistently supported the International Labour Organisation in its efforts to promote decent global labour standards for seafarers and was represented at the 94th convention by a tripartite delegation consisting of Government officials, nominees of the employers — IBEC — and of the workers — ICTU.

The new convention sets out clear principles and rights for seafarers while allowing a sufficient degree of national discretion to deliver those rights with transparency and accountability. It consolidates and updates 68 existing ILO maritime conventions and recommendations adopted since 1920. Countries that do not ratify the new convention will remain bound by the previous conventions that they have ratified.

The new convention will come into force after it has been ratified by 30 ILO member states with a total share of at least 33% of world gross tonnage. The first step for Ireland will be to examine the impact that the convention will have on current national legislation with a view to introducing, where necessary, appropriate statutory provision to give full effect to the convention. Once this is completed Ireland will then be in a position to initiate its formal ratification process to the convention.