Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 79: To ask the Minister for Transport if he will report on the recent assignation of white list status to Ireland from the Paris Memorandum of Understanding; the number of inspectors currently inspecting ships docked in ports here; if he will appoint more inspectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23290/08]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The Executive Committee of the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on port state control (the Paris MoU) met in Greece during May and decided to admit Ireland to the "White List" in recognition of the significant improvement Ireland has made in recent years in safety standards aboard Irish registered ships.

Obtaining 'White List' status from the Paris MoU is an international recognition that Ireland operates a quality shipping register. The "White List" represents quality flags with a consistently low detention record. No Irish vessel has a detention recorded against it in the Paris MoU Port State Control database for 2007.

The "White List" status has been achieved through the regular monitoring and inspection of Irish registered vessels carried out by the Marine Survey Office with the active co-operation of the operators of ships flying the Irish flag.

As regards the carrying out of Port State Control onboard foreign vessels in Irish ports, the number of marine surveyors employed by my Department and qualified to carry out this work currently stands at 22. My Department is in the process of recruiting additional surveyors to assist in this work from 2009 onwards.