Vol. 388 No. 9
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs, in view of the legislation passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas establishing Irish jurisdiction of the seas within a 12 mile limit, if he will make a statement on the use of these territorial waters by submarines possibly carrying nuclear weapons; if his attention has been drawn to this problem; the number of times the Irish limit has been breached; and the steps he proposes to take to ensure that these occurrences will cease.
19.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether the presence of nuclear-powered submarines in the Irish Sea was raised during the recent visit of President Gorbachev to this country; whether an assurance was sought, as a matter of urgency, with regard to the safety of fishing vessels, that Soviet submarines would avoid the Irish Sea; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
39.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if, in view of the dangers highlighted by the recent accident involving a Soviet nuclear submarine off the coast of Norway, the Government intend to take any initiative through the United Nations or other appropriate body to have all nuclear submarines banned from the Irish Sea; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to answer Priority Question No. 12 and Questions Nos. 19 and 39 together.
In my address to the UN Third Special Session on Disarmament in New York in June 1988, I availed of the opportunity to voice Ireland's concern about the growth in nuclear submarine traffic in busy coastal and fishing zones, such as the Irish Sea, and of the potential environmental dangers posed by such nuclear powered vessels in the event of accident.
The specific question of submarine traffic was not raised in discussions with President Gorbachev at Shannon. However, I discussed with him the question of nuclear disarmament and underlined Ireland's firm commitment to this goal. It is clear that movement towards nuclear disarmament could help reduce the number of nuclear submarines operating in the Irish Sea and elsewhere. The recent incident involving the Soviet nuclear submarine off the coast of Norway has highlighted the potential risks posed by such submarines.
The safety of Irish fishing vessels at sea has long been a matter of particular concern to the Government. As the Minister for Foreign Affairs has previously indicated to the Dáil, the Government have brought this issue to the attention of all concerned through the channels of the International Maritime Organisation where we sponsored an initiative aimed at focussing attention on the problems posed to fishermen by submarine traffic.
The IMO is the international body responsible for safety at sea. The initiative resulted in the unanimous adoption by the General Assembly of the IMO of a resolution entitled, "Avoidance by Submerged Submarines of Fishing Vessels and their Fishing Gear". It is our hope that these efforts will make a positive contribution to the avoidance of incidents involving surface vessels and submerged submarines at sea.
Ireland's territorial waters now extend to 12 miles from our coast. Under international law, vessels, including submarines, of other countries have a right of innocent passage through these waters without notification — provided, in the case of submarines, that they travel on the surface and fly their flags. The Department of Foreign Affairs have no record of transits of this kind by submarines within our territorial waters during the past five years.
International waters begin at the edge of our 12 mile territorial limit. Vessels of all nations, including submarines, have free access under international law to these waters and we have no right to bar or limit their access or transit. While therefore, I share the Deputies' concern about the dangers which nuclear submarines passing through the Irish Sea could pose, I have to say that in the present state of international law, it is not possible to ban submarines from innocent transit on the surface through our territorial seas or to ban or limit in any way their passage through seas which, beyond our 12 mile limit, are regarded as international waters. I would however appeal to the sense of international responsibility of the countries which operate such submarines. I would ask them to understand the dangers which they can cause to innocent surface vessels such as fishing boats; and, at a wider level, the extremely grave dangers which could follow an accident involving a nuclear submarine in a narrow body of water such as the Irish Sea.
In reference to the Taoiseach's talks with President Gorbachev, does he agree that the reduction in nuclear missiles has meant that the nuclear challenge has gone to sea rather than faded in view of the fact that 500 nuclear reactors out of the 900 in the world are located on the high seas at the moment? Might I further ask if the Taoiseach is not concerned that there have been 38 deaths since 1981 for which no member of the international community has accepted responsibility, and if he is satisfied with the procedure for submarines surfacing and identifying themselves? Is the Taoiseach suggesting to me that it is the responsibility of, for example, the fishing community, to avoid having their nets dragged or losing their lives, rather than taking a bold initiative and declaring the Irish Sea a nuclear free zone? Would he consider that kind of radical proposal in view of the loss of life, international irresponsibility and the fact that the Irish Sea is becoming the most radioactive stretch of water in the world?
Naturally all of us are deeply concerned at the general situation in regard to nuclear submarines transiting our waters. Indeed we are particularly concerned at the danger they pose to our fishermen. We try to do everything we can. We raised the matter at the IMO which is the international body responsible for safety at sea. I do not know that the sort of declaration the Deputy suggests, of declaring the Irish Sea a nuclear free zone, would be more than an empty gesture. The present state of international law is such that we cannot legally in international fora or courts do anything about international waters. What we can do is use whatever influence we have to appeal to the nations concerned to act responsibility, even though they are exercising their international rights, and have a sense of responsibility and due regard for civilian shipping of all kinds, particularly those who have to earn their livelihood by fishing at sea. I am no more happy about the situation than the Deputy is. We all have a horror of the prospect of these nuclear submarines transiting through either our domestic waters or the contingent international waters, but unless we can get something done universally at international level there is little more we can do about it than we are doing at present.
Let me ask one final question.
There is a little over a minute left of the time remaining to deal with Priority Questions. I was hoping we might get at least one more question done.
I would ask the Taoiseach to communicate with me as to whether he would be willing to consider proposals made by maritime institutes for monitoring identification systems within the 12 mile limit that would be low cost and feasible.
Yes, if there is anything helpful in that way, I will certainly do it.
