Vol. 404 No. 4
152 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for the Marine the action he proposes to take to protect trawlers in the Irish Sea from being sunk by submarines between now and October, 1991 when the International Maritime Organisation meet again.
As the Deputy may be aware, I have voiced my concern about this problem publicly. I believe that fishermen in the Irish Sea are entitled to the highest safety standard being applied by all. The Government are very seriously concerned about the dangers that submarines pose to shipping and about the nuclear hazard in the event of an incident involving nuclear powered or armed submarines. We avail of every opportunity in international fora, such as the United Nations and the International Maritime Organisation, to focus attention on the problem. My Department are at present pursuing this matter in consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs, and will continue to do so in the coming months. The matter is also being pursued with relevant fishery authorities, particularly in the UK. The Department of Foreign affairs have raised specific incidents with the authorities of the countries concerned and will continue to do so.
