asked the Minister for the Environment the agreements made between the Irish and British Governments to counter pollution in the seas around our coasts.
Written Answers. - Marine Pollution.
369.
There are no formal agreements. There is, however, a well-established informal understanding between the two Governments on mutual co-operation in such matters as instant reporting of oil pollution incidents, communication and information exchange and the co-ordination of response to marine pollution emergencies. As indicated in the report of the Joint Study on Economic Co-operation recently published, questions of oil spillages and other marine pollution were included as a priority subject to the study.
Both sides welcomed the continuation of the contacts already established, with a view to the exchange of information and the co-ordination of response to marine pollution emergencies. There was agreement that discussion might also extend, if desired, to matters of legitimate concern about discharges from the land on either side of the Irish Sea. There are, of course, certain international conventions in regard to pollution of the sea to which both States are contracting parties.