Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 42: To ask the Minister for Transport if he will increase the number of inspectors carrying out inspections on ships docked in Irish ports, especially in view of the tragic death of a young mariner in August 2007; if he has reviewed the resources that are allocated to the inspections system in the context of the recent report by the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch into the 2007 fatal accident on the Dublin Viking in Dublin Port; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17345/08]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The primary responsibility for the safety of a ship rests with the operating company and with the state in which the ship is registered, the flag state. A second line of defence exists whereby the state in which the ship is located, the port state, has the entitlement to carry out inspections. This entitlement to carry out port state control inspections can only ever be on a sampling basis.

In Ireland port state control inspections on foreign flagged ships are carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control and EU Directives. The requirement is to inspect 25% of all foreign flagged ships visiting Irish ports each year. Surveyors from my Department inspect over 400 such ships each year, which is in excess of the 25% inspection commitment. Additionally, Ireland inspects all foreign flagged roll-on roll-off passenger ferries operating on international voyages to and from Ireland; these inspections include both scheduled and unscheduled inspections. Ireland fully meets its commitment in this regard as well.

The recent tragedy on board the ro-ro passenger ferry the "M/V Dublin Viking" yet again highlights the importance of safe mooring procedures and safety management systems on board ships. As this ship is registered in the United Kingdom, they as flag state have the primary role in ensuring that the ship is operated safely and they certify the management company as capable of doing so. Ireland as the port state is obliged under international treaties to accept such certification as prima facie evidence that the ship is compliant unless there are clear grounds for concluding otherwise. My Department is in the process of recruiting additional surveyors to assist in this work from 2009 onwards.