Vol. 562 No. 4
117 Dr. Cowley asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the implications of the Merchant Shipping Act 1992 on the Irish Federation of Sea Anglers official competitions in Connacht and if he will make a statement on the matter, in view of the tourism and general economic value of this IFSA sea angling activity in the west. [6362/03]
At present there are 14 licensed passenger boats in Mayo and the maritime safety directorate of my Department has received a further eight applications for the inspection of vessels for passenger boat licences in the Mayo and Sligo areas. These vessels will be inspected as soon as possible.
I appreciate the concerns of the Connacht branch of the Irish Federation of Sea Anglers, IFSA, regarding the possible effects the new passenger boat regulations, which came into effect on 1 January 2003, may have on sea angling festivals and competitions, particularly where there may be difficulties in bringing old fishing vessels up to the required safety standard. However, as Minister, my primary concern is to enhance safety at sea and on inland waterways. While sea-angling festivals are of importance in tourism terms, we cannot build our tourism industry on a poor safety regime. There is a long-term benefit to the tourism industry in being able to demonstrate that the highest safety standards are adhered to in sea angling and I urge sea angling clubs and festival organisers to avail of the boats that are already licensed. To facilitate boat owners affected by the new regulations and in response to a request from the Connacht provincial council of the IFSA, an information seminar on the passenger boat regulations will be held on 25 March in Westport, County Mayo. I assure the Deputy that my Department will assist vessel owners in every way possible to comply with the new regulations.
I thank the Minister for his reply and for his visit to Ballina to announce the roll-out of broadband. We now need the Minister for Transport to announce new roads and we will be happy.
These regulations will kill the goose that laid the golden egg. The IFSA competitions are worth some €3 million to €5 million, annually, benefiting disadvantaged areas such as Belmullet, Corraun, Mulranny, Newport and others. Killala Bay and Clew Bay have hosted the world sea-angling competitions. These men are already operating to a safe standard and are interested in looking after their clients, so they do not want them to drown. Indeed, in 50 years, there has never been a drowning at an IFSA competition.
These regulations make it particularly difficult because one cannot get insurance without a safety statement, life-jacket and safety boat. Does the Minister not agree that it is totally impractical to enforce this law which means people can use a boat for fishing every day but need a licence if they go out on an IFSA sea-angling trip? The Minister has already said there are only eight such licensed boats in Mayo but some 85%—
Some 14 vessels are already licensed and eight more are to be inspected.
Some 85% of these competitions take place in County Mayo. These boats are all over Mayo – the third largest county in the country – so it is impractical to get them together. Does the Minister agree it is also impractical to expect people to pay €10 to €15, particularly in the absence of any support towards the fee?
I understand there is a requirement for 20 licensed boats for fishing competitions in Belmullet. There are 14 licensed vessels, with eight more to be inspected. I do not agree with the Deputy when he refers to what is happening as "overkill". One cannot "overkill" on safety. I would be in dereliction of my duty if I did not require minimum safety at sea standards and see to it that they are adhered to. There have been awful incidents in our history where people have gone on to the water but failed to meet even the minimum safety standards. As Minister, I will not stand over that. I will insist on minimum safety standards and not accept anything less.
While I have sympathy for the organisers of sea angling festivals, the use of boats that meet safety standards will benefit the tourism industry and the organisers. People spend large amounts of money going to festivals, taking sea-angling trips and purchasing equipment. For an unknown reason we have tended not to invest sufficiently in safety equipment – and not only in this area. As someone with experience of being on the sea, I will not allow anything other than boats that meet the minimum recommended safety standards.
There are a multitude of regulations that must be enforced. This is ridiculous when one considers that people are sailing and fishing every day. They would not be insured unless they had a safety statement on their boats. I still feel this is overkill and it will do untold harm. Mayo is a big county and I accept the Minister's point about the number of unlicensed boats.
I beg to differ with the Deputy.
