Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 645: To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the date on which Ireland will ratify the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (2006); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9027/11]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) was adopted at the 94th International Labour Organisation Convention on the 23rd February 2006 in Geneva. The Convention seeks to ensure that the employment and social rights of seafarers on Irish ships are fully implemented. Ireland, along with other ILO Member States, must bring the Convention into force via national legislation.

This obligation has led to the necessity for an enabling provision to be included in primary legislation. Section 87 was included in the Merchant Shipping Act 2010 to address the merchant shipping aspects of the Convention and will enable the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to make regulations to fulfil the State's commitments in relation to merchant shipping aspects of the Convention for Irish ships and seafarers sailing on those ships.

The Convention will come into force twelve months after the date on which there are registered ratifications by thirty ILO Member States with a total share of at least 33% of world gross tonnage. The ILO has advised that to date 12 Member States, representing 44% of world tonnage, have ratified the Convention. The tonnage threshold has now been passed, but a further 18 ILO Member States are required to ratify the Convention before it can come into force. The ILO has indicated that it is increasingly likely that the Convention will enter into force by mid 2012.

My Department is currently progressing the necessary national secondary legislation in consultation with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in order to meet the expected entry into force date.