asked the Minister for the Marine the present position regarding the payment of compensation to the State by the owners or insurers of the Kowloon Bridge, arising from the wreck of the vessel on the County Cork coast in 1987.
14.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Kowloon Bridge Incident.
7.
asked the Minister for the Marine if he will outline the present position between the representatives of the Irish Government and the owners of the Kowloon Bridge in respect of the Irish Government's claim for environmental damages caused by the breaching of the ship on the County Cork coast; the amount of money the Irish Government proposes to obtain from the owners of the vessel; when that money is likely to be received; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 14 together.
In October 1987 my Department claimed approximately IR£1.75 million from the ship's insurers in respect of the State's costs. After protracted negotiations the insurers made a conditional offer which was not acceptable to me. I have referred the matter to the Chief State Solicitor's office with a view to having the claim pursued through the courts.
I put it to the Minister that the delay in recovering from the insurance company money for an accident which occurred in March 1987 is unreasonable and indefensible. Has the Minister, even at this stage, secured an admission in principle that the insurance company, the B and I Club of London, accept responsibility and that the only issue now left open to him is that of the quantum of damage? Has the Minister secured that much in clear, unambiguous terms?
The insurers have already made an offer——
Have they acknowledged——
Please, let us hear the Minister. The Deputy has asked a question and he should be good enough to hear the reply.
The insurers made an offer of £1 million which I felt was unacceptable — I still believe so — and I rejected it. I have asked the legal advisers to proceed to recover the full amount due.
I know I cannot repeat myself but the Minister is not answering the question I asked. I want to know if he has received an admission of liability and if the issue is one of quantum. Many people can make offers without admission of liability and well he knows it. Since this matter was last raised in the House, has the Minister included in a claim any compensation to cover the general loss to the tourist and fishing interests in the west Cork area? The itemisation of the £1.7 million includes departmental loss on expenditure. Has the Minister sought a claim for general loss to environmental and tourist interests in the area?
I have already given to the House a detailed breakdown of how the figure was arrived at but I can make it available to the Deputy if he wishes.
Will the claim remain at £1.7 million?
Yes, £1.75 million.
Does the Minister appreciate that that does not include any general claim for loss of income to fishermen or revenue to——
We are having repetition.
I am merely asking the Minister if he appreciates that the figure does not include any such claim.
I have already given the figure for the claim we have lodged in this instance and a breakdown of the claims submitted by each individual Department. As I have said, we received an offer of £1 million and court proceedings are being instituted for the recovery of the full amount.
I did not hear the full extent of the Minister's original reply. Will he outline to the House the steps that will be taken, where the legal case will take place and how long it will take before a legal settlement will be arrived at?
We sought the views of the Chief State Solicitor who was subsequently requested to take court proceedings in the matter. That is the position at this stage.
Will the case be taken through Irish courts or through international courts?
That is a matter for the legal advisers. I am not prepared to say any more at this stage except that an offer has been made and we did not accept it. We have instructed the legal advisers to issue proceedings to recover the amount due. That is now in the hands of the Chief State Solicitor.
When will the legal proceedings be issued and how long will the process take? Has the Minister any information as to the timescale involved?
The only indication we have is that it takes a long time to process cases of this nature. In some cases it takes years to conclude proceedings. I do not wish to say anything further at this stage which may prejudice our case. I have indicated very clearly that there has been no undue delay so far as we are concerned. We have prepared our claim. We have indicated that we are not accepting the offer that has been made and that we are now taking legal proceedings to recover the full amount due.