Written Answers. - Water Sports Vehicles.
Ivor Callely
Question:
37
Mr. Callely
asked the
Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources
the issues of concern, if any, brought to his attention regarding the use of jet skis further to Parliamentary Question No. 27 of 27 May 1998; the progress, if any, made in relation to the established group regarding the regulation of the marine leisure area; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[16004/98]
Ivor Callely
Question:
65
Mr. Callely
asked the
Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources
the various vehicles used for water sport activities; the regulations, if any, governing the use of water sports vehicles, particularly in relation to safety for the users and other marine users; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[16357/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 37 and 65 together.
I am conscious of the wide-ranging concerns that have been expressed by several organisations and by members of the general public in relation to the indiscriminate use of jet skis and fast power craft in certain inland and coastal waters. Vessels known as personal water craft, together with speed boats, are the most commonly cited craft which have given rise to public concern.
While the Merchant Shipping (Jet Skis and Fast Power Boat) Regulations, 1992, were introduced to prevent these craft operating in certain areas, the Deputy will be aware from my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 27 of 27 May 1998 of the difficulties concerning the implementation of these regulations.
My overriding concern as Minister with responsibility for the prevention of loss of life at sea and the promotion of sustainable development of marine tourism and leisure is to ensure that such craft are operated in a safe and responsible manner.
I have identified the need for action on a number of fronts.
A Marine Safety Working Group, MSWG, operates under the chairmanship of the Director of the Irish Marine Emergency Service of my Department, with the aim of creating and communicating marine safety information and messages, to endeavour to reduce accidents and to prevent the loss of life in Irish waters. The Marine Safety Working Group meets regularly and has produced a number of "Safety on the Water" booklets, leaflets and posters for widespread dissemination. I have asked this group to prepare urgently a safety code which will address the safe operation of jet skis and other fast recreational power craft in Ireland. The purpose of the code will be to heighten awareness of the requirement to operate such craft in a safe manner with particular regard to the safety of other users of our water based leisure resource. In drawing up the code, the group will draw on the existing Irish and international experience in this field; I have asked the group to produce an interim code for dissemination in a matter of weeks.
I intend to ensure that this safety code is communicated to purchasers and users of jet skis and fast craft. Suppliers of such craft will be asked to assist in disseminating such information, whether purchased or hired. Local authorities will also be requested to post the code in areas where jet skis and fast craft are used.
I have asked the Marine Institute, whose functions include the promotion of the sustainable development of the marine leisure resource, to immediately examine, with the benefit of independent expertise as necessary, the options for the management of the operation of such craft. I intend that the examination will, among other things, look at appropriate statutory and non-statutory models for management and promotion of the safe use of such craft and that the institute will liase closely with my Department in the matter. The institute will draw on management models at a number of locations in Ireland and elsewhere.
I intend to explore further with the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the appropriate role for local authorities in the control of recreational power craft, with particular reference to local authorities' functions in the development and management of water based leisure in their own areas. In any event, the Marine Institute's examination of the matter will involve assessing the most appropriate local authority input.
It is also worth noting the published coastal zone management report and discussion document, commissioned by the Departments of the Environment and Local Government; the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources; and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands which was prepared by Brady Shipman Martin. The discussion document identified that, within the tourism and leisure area, policies of limitation and curtailment on tourism and leisure development and use are likely to be necessary to deal with the increasing pressures, possibly coupled with a greater emphasis on quality rather than quantity. The proposals in the report and discussion document for zonation of coastal areas will clearly have to address the use of the coastal zone for marine leisure, including the operation of recreational fast power craft. Accordingly, proposals for regulating such craft must take cognisance of the context in which wider proposals are being considered for coastal zone management.
It is clear to me that the control of recreational fast power craft must be addressed on a number of fronts. My immediate concern is to ensure that progress is made as a matter of urgency in raising safety awareness among the users of such craft. The use of statutory mechanisms to regulate such craft is complex from both safety and legal perspectives but I am determined that, if statutory measures are identified as being necessary, the various public agencies will agree on a plan of action to implement them.
