Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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1085. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will outline the key elements of the Maritime Labour Package as part of the Flag State Directive covering maritime issues; if he will detail the recent discussions he and his officials had at the recent trilogue negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26964/13]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) of the International Labour Organization (ILO) is applicable to international shipping worldwide. It aims to achieve decent working and living conditions on board ships for all seafarers, regardless of their nationality and of the flag of the ship, as well as securing fair competition for quality shipowners. It enters into force on 20th August 2013.  All EU Member States adopted the MLC in 2006, and, at the moment, my Department is in the process of preparing legislation to enable Ireland to ratify the Convention. 

Council Directive 2009/13/EC implements the Agreement made, in 2008, between European management and labour representatives on the Maritime Labour Convention 2006.  This Agreement is an update of an earlier 1998 Agreement, which was set out in Directive 1999/63/EC (transposed in the European Communities (Merchant Shipping) (Organisation of Working Time) Regulations 2003 [S.I. No. 532 of 2003]).  

Since the European social partners do not have the power to include in their Agreement the enforcement provisions contained in Title V of the MLC, the present proposal aims to provide for the enforcement and compliance of EU flag States with the Social Agreement as annexed to Directive 2009/13/EC.   

The proposal lays down the principles to monitor the application of the relevant parts of the MLC, obliging flag States to establish mechanisms for inspection and to ensure the compliance of their ships with the Social Agreement.  The Directive also establishes obligations in the area of training and competence of inspectors, as well as complaint handling. 

The EU Member States agreed their General Approach to the Directive in October 2012.  The European Parliament did not complete its deliberations on the file until 13 March this year, and since then, my officials have been negotiating with the European Parliament with a view to reaching a compromise, under the Irish presidency, between the Parliament and the Council.  Three trilogues and several technical meetings have been held to try to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.  The negotiations are now coming to a close but I cannot comment on the details of those negotiations until they are completed.