asked the Minister for the Marine when his Department will ratify the regulations governing the disposal of garbage from ships as recently published by the International Maritime Organisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Garbage Disposal at Sea.
3.
The regulations referred to relate to Annex V of an International Convention known as MARPOL 73/78.
My Department is presently drafting a Bill on Sea Pollution which will enable Ireland to give effect to this Convention and to a further International Convention known as the Intervention Protocol.
Following enactment of this legislation the Annexes to MARPOL 73/78, including Annex V, will be implemented by way of regulations under the said legislation.
Is the Minister aware of the extent of garbage being washed up on the shores of our beaches throughout the country? The problem is so extensive that the Minister for the Environment has recently recognised the difficulty and is allocating £1 million this year for a clean up of the beaches. Further, may I ask the Minister whether studies have been carried out on the effect of incinerating garbage offshore in industries such as fish farming and other related aquaculture industries?
I have to say that the time provided for priority questions is almost exhausted.
I am aware of the points raised by the Deputy. His question relates to the disposal of garbage from ships, but I am not necessarily saying that all the garbage one finds on the shore is garbage disposed from ships. In fact, I think that the disposal of garbage from ships is very minor compared with the national problem of garbage on our beaches and that is why the Minister for the Environment has taken that action.
As I have said, the legislation covering this area is at an advanced stage of preparation and we would hope to have it before the Oireachtas as soon as possible. The heads of the Bill have been prepared and the legislation is presently being drafted.
5.
asked the Minister for the Marine if he will consider relocating the sludge dumping site in the Irish Sea used by Dublin Corporation and place it further out to sea, in view of recent information that the current site is not the most suitable location; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
In July 1988 a survey was carried out by my Department of monitor the effects of sewage sludge dumping at the approved site off Howth Head. The survey indicated that while dumped material was widely dispersed there were some localised problems. The report of this survey and a subsequent report reviewing previous surveys at the sludge dumping site were released by my Department early this year.
The Department is now looking at alternative dump sites further offshore. Before relocating the sludge dumping at a new site, the environmental impact of this action must first be assessed. This will be done by carrying out an environmental impact assessment, including the use of a predictive model. The model will subsequently be used for ongoing monitoring and will be tested against experimental dumping. The time scale envisaged is that the model will be available by the end of this year, with experimental dumping commencing early next year.
I welcome the long overdue movement in this area. It is a matter of grave concern to everyone, especially the people of Howth, that the sludge of the city of Dublin is dumped so close to them. Could the Minister indicate the general location of alternative sites further offshore? Having regard to the fact that the corporation ship travels once every two days, would the Minister consider that at a little extra cost the ship could in fact move well out into the Irish Sea, well off the south coast of Ireland, perform its dumping and return within the schedule currently available to it?
I have not got the precise details of the proposed relocations available here. However in the REMOT study which we commissioned there was no major signs of change from the previous study in 1983. As I have indicated already, we published that survey. The 1988 study was a reconnaissance survey and was not as comprehensive as that carried out in 1983, but it indicated that conditions on the sea floor had not deteriorated signficantly between the period 1983 to 1988. Because of the gaps in the information available we held meetings with the Department of the Environment and Dublin Corporation. Further studies are now being undertaken. As I said, the environmental impact assessment will be carried out on a new site and if further information becomes available I will supply it to the Deputy.
Again, I thank the Minister for his reply. Would the Minister accept in general principle the findings of the International conference, "Managing the Irish Sea", held in Dublin in November 1988 that the Irish Sea is more akin to a lake in which water has a life span of nine months and is to a great extent unsuitable for the dumping of sludge? Secondly, can the Minister tell us if the investigations are seeking to trace the build up of nitrates, and the related invasion of algae, in the bay associated with the dumping of sludge so close to the bay? In short——
Let us have some brevity, Deputy.
Would the Minister accept that the Irish Sea is not suitable for the dumping of waste and that we could show some great example if we were to dump our sludge in the Atlantic at little or no extra cost?
As I said, the study to which the Deputy refers indicates that there are no major pollution problems. It does indicate that overfishing is one of the major problems and points out that there is no significant evidence to suggest that any major damage is being done arising from this type of dumping. As the Deputy is aware, we are working closely with the Department of the Environment and the Dublin Port and Docks Board. There is a continuous process of examination and study and any further improvements that we can make in this area will be made.
Would the Minister consider the possibility of drying the sludge, which could be used in the making of garden fertilisers? It would seem that it is very costly to transport sludge which has a high liquid content, but with an onsite drier or dewatering system costs and the risk to the environment could be greatly diminished.
I agree with what the Deputy has said. Research is taking place in that area. The Deputy will be aware of the new technology programme being carried out at Lough Sheelin aimed at significantly reducing the amount of pollution in that area. With the development of new technology there may well be more acceptable means of disposing of sewage and sludge in the future.