Vol. 519 No. 5
107 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources the plans, if any, he has to introduce regulations in relation to the operation of leisure craft at sea and in inland waterways, to ensure the safety of persons using such craft and to minimise calls on the emergency services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14375/00]
On the issue of safety on leisure craft, as the Deputy is aware, the action group on small powered recreational craft, including personal watercraft, recently presented me with its final report. On the basis of this I am currently proposing the introduction of a legislative framework for the regulation of all recreational craft. This is being achieved through amendments to the Merchant Shipping Act, 1992, which are included in the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) Bill, 1999. The Bill passed the Dáil select committee stage at its session on 16 May 2000. The Bill foresee the implementation of regulations to take account not only the safety of the passengers and occupants of the vessels in question but also the safety of other persons resulting from the use of the vessels and any disturbance or nuisance caused by their usage.
Following on the enactment of this legislation, I hope to quickly introduce implementing regulations based on the recommendations of the action group's final report. I consider that these regulations, allied to the recently launched Year 2000 Safety on the Water campaign, will contribute to an increase in safety in the water based leisure sector and a resultant decrease in the emergency calls received by the emergency services in future.
