I was not in the House when this Bill was discussed previously and as spokesperson for this area I am glad of the opportunity to speak on it now. It is important to note that this legislation has been awaiting enactment for three years and it is a poor reflection on the Minister and the Department that it takes that long to get legislation passed. The Bill which is only now coming under serious scrutiny should have come before the House long ago. However, it is here now and I will not delay it further.
The purpose of the Bill is to amend and improve previous legislation in this area. The parent Bill is the Dumping at Sea Act 1996. This new amending Bill improves that legislation and is quite well drafted. The legislation has four key aspects, the first of which is to update the definition of harbour authority. Many harbours are now controlled by a port authority so it is important to update the definition to include them.
The second purpose of the Bill is to include "the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands" in section 5 of the parent Bill. It requires that he or she be consulted in certain circumstances before a dumping at sea permit is granted. This recognises that the State attaches increased importance to the world underwater as a heritage and natural resource. While the inclusion of a Minister from another Department may be cumbersome or delay the permit assessment process, it is an appropriate and acceptable requirement.
The third element of this legislation is the requirement that all applicants for dumping at sea permits should publicly advertise their intentions. I support this. It is time we recognised that dumping at sea is similar to dumping on land where permission is required and there is no reason it should not be treated similarly in legislation. Dumping at sea has caused serious damage to the sea bed in some Irish waters. Just because we cannot physically see the damage does not mean we should ignore it. The sea bed has a valuable contribution to make and should be protected. A public advertisement of intention to dump will be required and 21 days will be allowed for stakeholders, interested parties or the public to express their concerns or support before the permit is granted. That process will be useful and must be supported.
The final purpose of the Bill is to require, in certain circumstances, an environmental assessment of natural and archaeological heritage of a sea bed area before dumping occurs. That is important. The theme of this amending legislation is that of the State making a necessary effort in attaching increased importance and value to the underwater, including its life and natural resources, although it is of relevance only to the sea and not inland waterways.
The Bill also allows the Minister to grant or refuse permits depending on conditions. It strengthens the enforcement aspect of current legislation by empowering the courts to impose monetary penalties and even a prison term of five years for illegal dumping. This is a welcome proposal.
I hope the days of the cowboy operations of dumping refuse or silt material at sea are gone and, if not, we must ensure that those involved do not get away lightly with committing actions that will now be against the law. We need to be tough in this area but also reasonable and open when someone applies for a dumping permit, although there is no room for any flexibility when imposing a fine for illegal dumping at sea.
I welcome the Government's significant investment in the national seabed survey. The new vessel, Celtic Explorer, contains fantastic machinery which will assist in recognising the potential of the country's coastline. After our people, our greatest natural resource is the sea that surrounds us. Our national waters comprise 11% of the EU total, yet we have no clue about what goes on there or what is happening on the seabed. I encourage the Government to continue to invest in the national seabed survey. It should be viewed as an opportunity rather than a cost.
The survey will map out the seabed area around the coastline. This will assist in finding natural resources, such as oil and gas, and will help in managing fish stocks in a more efficient manner. Suitable areas, depending on their depth, will be located for breeding fish stocks. If these must be set aside to ensure that fish stocks survive and grow, a seabed survey will offers a significant advantage.
The survey will also offer opportunities when addressing the problem of dumping at sea. Whether we like it or not, we need to dispose of materials at sea. It is a dirty process and it is important to locate the areas where it is suitable to dump waste, such as dredge materials. This can only be done in the context of having access to as much scientific information as possible.
One of the roles of the Celtic Explorer should be to map out suitable locations for dumping certain types of material at sea. Harbours such as those at Cork and Waterford need to be dredged for silt on a regular basis which then needs to be deposited elsewhere, usually at sea. As an example, there should be a scientific map of the seabed around the entrance to Cork Harbour and its environs, which would identify the quantity of material to be dumped before granting operates a dumping at sea permit. They would then be in a position to identify suitable locations to deposit the material.
It is important to deal with dumping in an educated rather than a haphazard way. In the past, a deep patch was sought outside a harbour which was filled with silt. The work of the Celtic Explorer should be linked with this legislation to ensure that the Minister takes a proactive role in sourcing suitable areas for dumping at sea. In this regard, the sensitivity to dumping at sea for some areas, such as those with high levels of aquaculture activity and fish farming, must also be taken into consideration. A combination of the work by the Celtic Explorer and the Marine Institute would be able to map the coastline. Targeting areas as suitable for dumping at sea will allow the opportunity to decide which should be used each year. In taking this approach, the Department should be looking for opportunity rather than counting the cost.
Many Members will have seen the "Prime Time" programme on fish farming and aquaculture. It offered only one perspective on the industry, was critical and negative in tone and did not consider the positive aspects of fish farming. However, it raised an important incident involving an individual who had dumped a significant amount of dead fish in a sea harbour. The dumping was not reported but was discovered by the Marine Institute. There is probably an explanation for why it happened. I understand the individual concerned was forced to make a difficult decision about the use of his equipment and nets which meant that in an effort to save some fish he was obliged to dump a significant quantity of dead fish. It had the potential to do much damage to the seabed and its marine environment, but fortunately, this did not happen. The situation was also monitored.
This incident highlighted a system that is not working. The Marine Institute has probably the best monitoring system in the world for aquaculture and fish farming in terms of covering life levels and fish populations in tanks and so on. However, there is no system for punishing those who regularly break the rules on dumping at sea. We have discussed this in the past and I hope the Department of Communications, the Marine and Natural Resources is examining an alternative to shutting down an operation. There should be different levels of fines for different breaches of the regulations covering fish farming.
We should study other models abroad while at the same time maintaining the excellent levels of industry monitoring by the Marine Institute. We could then sell aquaculture and fish farming in a positive light as it offers great possibilities and opportunities for this island. We have many suitable bays and inlets to allow the industry to flourish in parts of the country that desperately need investment and industry such as this.
Some weeks ago I was in Inishowen looking at fish farming operations in Lough Swilly. I was impressed by the levels of employment and the professionalism of those involved. Just as we need to assess areas suitable for dumping, we also need to assess bays, rivers and harbours for their capacity to take the pressures that fish farming applies to the environment in such enclosed areas of water.
I support the Bill, which has taken three years to reach this stage. Initially I thought I had misread its title given that it contains the year 2000. While the Bill will tighten up the legislation in necessary ways, I would like to see policy coming from this to maximise the use of natural assets such as the Celtic Explorer so that we can take a strategic approach to dumping at sea rather than just a legislative approach whereby permits are issued on an individual basis. The Department should have a map showing where those who want to dump at sea should go. I hope the Minister will do this.