Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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243. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the details of the terms of review of the performance of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (details supplied) in relation to the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) (Amendment) Bill 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25703/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I indicated to the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications Networks during the pre-legislative scrutiny hearing of the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) (Amendment) Bill 2020 on 29 January 2021 that my Department would be commissioning a comprehensive, independent review of Ireland’s marine casualty investigation structures. I am pleased to advise that on 19 March 2021, following a tendering process, Clinchmaritime Ltd. was selected as the preferred supplier to undertake this important review. The key aims of the review are to assess the current organisational structures for marine casualty investigation in Ireland and to set out in a report to me, as Minister for Transport, any recommendations, including in relation to change, to achieve the most appropriate and effective marine casualty investigation structures for Ireland, taking into account national, EU and international obligations. 

Clinchmaritime Ltd. is headed by Captain Steve Clinch, who is widely recognised as an international expert with extensive experience in all aspects of marine casualty investigation. Captain Clinch was the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents of the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) between 2010 and 2018.  He has been involved in over 350 safety investigations.  In addition to being Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents in the MAIB, Captain Clinch has also chaired both the European Union’s Permanent Cooperation Framework (PCF) for Member State’s marine accident investigative bodies under Directive 2009/18/EC and the Marine Accident Investigators’ International Forum (MAIIF).  These international roles required extensive and regular engagement with marine accident investigative bodies and stakeholders from various jurisdictions and a comprehensive understanding of the EU and international marine casualty investigation regulatory framework. Captain Clinch also has experience transposing EU legislation and during his time chairing the PCF he worked with Member States and the EU Commission to develop regulations to establish the common methodology for investigating marine casualties and incidents.  

I understand that Captain Clinch is making good progress on the review and he has engaged with a number of key stakeholders already, including the Marine Casualty Investigation Board and marine accident investigation bodies from other jurisdictions, the European Maritime Safety Agency, industry stakeholders and the accident investigation bodies for rail and air in Ireland. It is expected that the review and report will be delivered to me in the coming weeks.

In addition, my officials initiated a public consultation on 29 March 2021, seeking views from the public (or any other interested stakeholder) on matters relevant to the review. The consultation was published on the gov.ie website through its dedicated ‘consultation’ page. In addition, the Department published a Marine Notice on the gov.ie website which was also actively emailed to approximately 700 email addresses (consisting of persons or organisations who have expressed an interest in receiving notifications on maritime issues) on the Department’s Marine Notice mailing list. The Department advertised the consultation via its official Twitter account, which has just over 2,200 followers and officials also contacted additional marine stakeholders directly to provide information on the review and seek submissions as part of the consultation process.  Furthermore, following a request, the Department extended the deadline for submissions from 21 April 2021 to 14 May 2021 to provide additional time for interested parties to engage on the matter. The submissions received as part of this public consultation will form an input into Captain Clinch’s review.  

Finally, I wish to advise that my Department and I are continuing to engage with the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications Networks with a view to progressing the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) (Amendment) Bill 2020, which seeks to ensure and enable the continued functioning of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board in the immediate term.