asked the Minister for Local Government when he intends to introduce legislation to deal with the hazards of coastal oil pollution.
66.
Ceisteanna — Questions Oral Answers. - Coastal Oil Pollution.
65.
asked the Minister for Local Government what emergency arrangements and equipment he has available to deal with coastal oil pollution accidents pending formal legislation on this matter.
I propose, with your permission, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, to take Questions Nos. 65 and 66 together.
Interim arrangements providing for the preparation, in advance of the necessary legislation, of emergency plans for the clearance by maritime local authorities of oil pollution are under consideration by my Department. Public and local authority personnel and equipment would, in the main, be used for oil clearance work, supplemented as necessary by equipment provided by or through other bodies. I am not yet in a position to say when legislation will be introduced.
May I ask the Minister, in relation to Question No. 65, if he will consider the introduction of legislation, now that he is at the drafting stage, along the general lines of that enacted by the Canadian Government whereby, in brief, a levy will be imposed on the oil interests, thus setting up an oil pollution fund to defray the massive costs which will arise if an oil tanker flounders off the coast of Ireland? May I ask the Minister if he would incorporate that kind of thinking into his legislation?
We will consider that.