Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 9 May 1996

Vol. 147 No. 5

Harbours Bill, 1995: Message from Dáil.

Acting Chairman (Mr. Sherlock)

The House has received the following message from the Dáil:

(1) Dáil Éireann has agreed to amendments 1 to 18, inclusive, 20 to 23, inclusive, and 25 to 28, inclusive, made by Seanad Éireann to the Harbours Bill, 1995.

(2) Dáil Éireann has not agreed to amendments 19 and 24 and desires that Seanad Éireann should not insist thereon and has made the following amendments in lieu thereof to which the agreement of Seanad Éireann is desired:

In page 44, lines 10 to 22, subsection (1) deleted and the following subsections substituted:

"(1) Subject to this section, the harbour master of a harbour may refuse entry into the harbour of a ship, vehicle or other conveyance if by reason of its nature or the condition of any of the goods being carried on it such entry or its presence in the harbour thereafter would, in the opinion of the harbour master, pose a danger to persons or property.

(2) Subject to this section, the harbour master of a harbour may only permit the entry into the harbour of radioactive material (within the meaning of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code of the International Maritime Organisation) with the consent of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland.

(3) Subject to this section, the following are prohibited from entering a harbour—

(a) a nuclear powered ship, vehicle or conveyance,

(b) a ship, vehicle or other conveyance that is carrying any nuclear weapons,

(c) a ship, vehicle or other conveyance that is carrying nuclear material (within the meaning of section 2 of the Radiological Protection Act, 1991), or ores or other substances destined for the production of nuclear materials.

(4) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications on the advice of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, exempt a ship, vehicle or other conveyance of a specified class or classes carrying nuclear material from the application of subsection (3) (c) and for so long as such an exemption is in force subsection (3) shall be construed and have effect in accordance with the exemption.

(5) Subsections (1), (2) and (3) shall only apply to a ship of the naval service of a state (other than the State) with the prior consent of the Government.

(6) Subsections (1), (2) and (3) shall not apply to a ship in distress or where there is imminent danger to persons.

(7) Where a ship, vehicle or other conveyance having been refused entry to a harbour under subsection (1) or in contravention of subsection (3) enters a harbour, the owner and master of the ship or the owner of the vehicle or conveyance or the person to whom the conveyance is hired at the time of the entry shall each be guilty of an offence.".

In page 44, subsection (3), line 29, "this section" deleted and "sub-section (8)" substituted.

In page 76, between lines 20 and 21, the following subsection inserted:

"(2) The Act of 1946 is hereby amended by the insertion after section 87 of the following section:

87A(1).—Subject to this section, the harbour master of a harbour may refuse entry into the harbour of a vessel, vehicle or other conveyance if by reason of its nature or the condition of any of the goods being carried on it such entry or its presence in the harbour thereafter would, in the opinion of the harbour master, pose a danger to persons or property.

(2) Subject to this section, the harbour master of a harbour may only permit the entry into the harbour of radioactive material (within the meaning of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code of the International Maritime Organisation) with the consent of the Radiological Protection Institution of Ireland.

(3) Subject to this section, the following are prohibited from entering a harbour——

(a) a nuclear powered vessel, vehicle or conveyance,

(b) a vessel, vehicle or other conveyance that is carrying any nuclear weapons,

(c) a vessel, vehicle or other conveyance that is carrying nuclear material (within the meaning of section 2 of the Radiological Protection Act, 1991), or ores or other substances destined for the production of nuclear materials.

(4) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications on the advice of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, exempt a vessel, vehicle or other conveyance of a specified class or classes carrying nuclear material from the application of subsection (3)(c) and for so long as such an exemption is in force subsection (3) shall be construed and have effect in accordance with the exemption.

(5) Subsections (1), (2) and (3) shall only apply to a vessel of the naval service of a state (other than the State) with the prior consent of the Government.

(6) Subsections (1), (2) and (3) shall not apply to a vessel in distress or where there is imminent danger to persons.

(7) Where a vessel, vehicle or other conveyance having been refused entry to a harbour under subsection (1) or in contravention of subsection (3) enters a harbour, the owner and master of the vessel or the owner of the vehicle or conveyance or the person to whom the conveyance is hired at the time of the entry shall each be guilty of an offence.

(8) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable——

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both,

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or to both.'.".

Members can see the text of the message from the Dáil outlining its decision on the amendments made by the Seanad to the Harbours Bill, 1995. On 22 December 1995 the Seanad returned the Bill to the Dáil with 28 amendments to which the agreement of Dáil Éireann was sought. The Dáil considered those amendments and accepted 26 of them, but did not agree to amendments Nos. 19 and 24, and made amendments in lieu of these two amendments.

The Seanad has now to decide whether or not it wishes to insist on amendments Nos. 19 and 24 and, if not, if it agrees to the amendments made by the Dáil in lieu of them. In each of the instances I referred to, I will call on the Leader to move a motion suggesting the action to be taken by the Seanad. I will then call on the Minister of State to explain the decision taken by the Dáil.

Each Senator may speak only once on each motion.

Mr. Manning

I move: "That the Seanad do not insist on amendment No. 19."

Minister of State at the Department of the Marine (Mr. Gilmore)

Senators will recall that in response to amendments which were tabled by Senator Fitzgerald in the Seanad, I moved amendments Nos. 19 and 24 to the Harbours Bill. This split section 52(1) (a) into two separate paragraphs. The first empowers the harbour master to refuse entry into the harbour of dangerous goods as classified in the IMDG code which in his or her opinion would be likely to endanger persons or property.

The second statutorily requires the harbour master to refuse entry into the harbour of a ship, vehicle or other conveyance that is powered by or carrying nuclear material. The amendments I introduced also provided for exemptions to be granted in respect of certain medical supplies and materials involving low background radiation levels. The amendments as proposed by me were approved by the Seanad.

Following approval by the Seanad of Seanad amendments Nos. 19 and 24, two matters in particular were brought to my attention. It was brought to my attention that the definition of nuclear material in the amendments as approved by the Seanad was confined, in effect, to uranium and plutonium only. Thus, the banning of all other radioactive materials would have been outside the terms of the amendment, their entry or otherwise being at the discretion of the harbour master.

As Senators are aware, the Radiological Protection Institute is the competent authority in regard to the movement in and out of our ports of radioactive material. As a consequence it is essential that the power and authority of the harbour master are carried out in close consultation with and subject to the views of the institute.

To avoid any ambiguity which might place the harbour master in an invidious position, I have decided therefore to amend the section to provide that the harbour master of a harbour may only permit the entry into the harbour of radioactive material with the consent of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland. The amendments which I proposed in the Dáil, and which were accepted by the Dáil, are in line with the powers and functions of the RPII laid down in statute.

The second matter that was brought to my attention was that the Seanad amendments, in so far as they related to the banning without exception from Irish harbours of all nuclear powered ships and ships carrying nuclear weapons, gave rise to constitutional problems. Under Article 29.4.1 of the Constitution, which relates to the conduct of foreign relations, the decision whether or not to ban a foreign state-owned ship from entering a harbour is one for the Government. Accordingly, it is proposed to overcome this difficulty by the insertion of an amending subsection providing that the prohibitions will apply to a ship of the naval service of a foreign state only with the prior consent of the Government.

I assure Senators that this amendment will not take away in practice from the outright ban of section 52 (3) and section 87A (3) or the present practice of not allowing such vessels to enter our harbours.

The amendment is necessary only to legislatively preserve the competence of the Executive as enshrined in the Constitution to regulate the conduct of our foreign relations, and to avoid a technical conflict with the Constitution.

Mr. Fitzgerald

I have no objection to the amendment and it is fair to say that it strengthens the section dealing with this matter in the Bill. I am glad we were part and parcel of getting this amendment into the Bill. It is probably the first time in the history of both Houses of the Oireachtas that any move has been made to ban nuclear powered vessels and nuclear materials. This would seem to be the wish of the majority of the people. I only hope the day will come shortly when legislation will be introduced declaring all our waters as a nuclear free zone.

Question put and agreed to.

Mr. Manning

I move: "That the Seanad agree to the first amendment made by the Dáil consequential upon its disagreement to amendment No. 19."

Question put and agreed to.

Mr. Manning

I move: "That the Seanad do not insist on amendment No. 24."

Mr. Gilmore

My opening contribution covered all the amendments. I thank Senator Fitzgerald for his co-operation in this matter. He stated that the amending of the Seanad amendments strengthened the measure. In fact, they extend it in relation to ships as well as extending the definitions. They also fireproof it against any question of constitutional issues being raised. It is a significant measure that was first debated here in the Seanad and has now been agreed. For the first time we are enshrining in legislation a ban on nuclear materials and nuclear powered vessels entering our ports. It is a significant measure. I acknowledge the contribution made by Senator Fitzgerald in moving an amendment on Committee Stage in the Seanad and I was happy to respond positively. I also thank the Leader of the House for his help in dealing with this matter.

Question put and agreed to.

Mr. Manning

I move: "That Seanad Éireann do agree to the amendment made by the Dáil consequential on its disagreement to amendment No. 24."

Question put and agreed to.

Acting Chairman

That completes the Bill and a message will be sent to the Dáil informing it of our decisions.

Mr. Fitzgerald

I thank the Minister for the time he spent bringing the Bill through the House and his officials for their help. When will the Bill become law?

Mr. Gilmore

All that remains is for it to be signed by the President. As I mentioned when previously steering the Bill through the House, there is much preparatory work to be undertaken to establish the harbour companies — preparing articles of association, the various financial matters, etc. — and a good deal of that is underway. I thank Senator Fitzgerald for his gracious comments about the enormous contribution made by officials of the Department of the Marine to the preparation of this legislation. They have been working for some time with the Irish Ports Authorities' Association on the preparatory work to set up the companies. We are working towards 1 January 1997 as the date for the incorporation of the new companies and I am satisfied we will be able to meet that target.

Mr. Manning

I associate myself with Senator Fitzgerald's remarks. The debate on the Harbours Bill was one of the best in my time here and the Seanad, especially Senator Fitzgerald, made an indelible impression on the legislation. I thank him for his contribution and co-operation and I also thank the Minister and his staff. We have done a good job on this Bill.

Sitting suspended at 1.15 p.m. and resumed at 2 p.m.