I move:
That a supplementary sum not exceeding £1,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1991, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for the Marine, including certain services administered by that Office, and for payment of certain grants and sundry grants-in-aid.
Before I deal with the Supplementary Estimate, I wish to express my appreciation of the remarks made by Deputy Bruton, Quinn and McCartan with regard to the accident in the port of Dublin last night. I want to associate myself with their remarks. Unfortunately the marine casualty which occurred last night in Dublin port involved, tragically, the loss of human life. As Deputies have noted, I was on the scene shortly after the casualty occurred and stayed with events during the night and morning. I expressed my sympathy to all those under stress in this incident and I take this opportunity now to do so again. In accordance with the suggestion of the Deputies who have already spoken, I join with the House in extending sympathy to those who have been bereaved.
I can assure the House that no effort will be spared — and I have given such direction to my Department — in investigating this casualty with the utmost care and rigour. To that end, I have appointed Captain Christopher Davies, nautical surveyor, together with Mr. Gordan Adamson, ship's surveyor of the Marine Survey Office of my Department, to hold a preliminary inquiry into the casualty on my behalf under the Merchant Shipping Act. I am determined that we shall learn the lessons that must be learned and that we shall apply those lessons in the interests of improving safety at sea and the protection afforded to seafarers in the future.
Since becoming Minister for the Marine I have put as one of my highest priorities the improvement of the capacity of this State to respond to marine emergencies. Existing arrangements were examined with great thoroughness and the process of radically upgrading the systems in place to coordinate emergency response efforts and the infrastructural facilities which facilitate that response is well in hand. I will cover that aspect in more detail in the course of my later remarks. In the meantime I extend my heartfelt thanks to the personnel of all the emergency services involved last night, including my own staff, who worked selflessly in the true tradition of this country, which rates human life very highly, to save life and bring the situation under control.
The request which I am making to the House today is to approve a Supplementary Estimate for a token amount of £1,000. I am happy in requesting this amount that I have not caused undue anxiety for my colleague, the Minister for Finance, as he settles into a brief which promises to be a particularly demanding one for him in the months ahead. While the amount which I am requesting by way of Supplementary Estimate is £1,000, that figure embraces significant internal reallocations within my Vote and I am glad of this opportunity to explain these to the House and also to take the opportunity to highlight a number of the important achievements of my Department during 1991. I have been able to cater for essential increased demands on my Vote in two ways. Firstly, I have insisted upon the most prudent management of all expenditure programmes during the year and the elimination or curtailment of certain expenditures when that option became necessary. Secondly, I have through executive action maximised and substantially increased appropriations-in-aid.
I believe that it is a substantial achievement of my Department to be in a position today to cater for the essential increased demands on its resources without a call on the Exchequer for increased funds. The main components of the increased demand are first and foremost the cost of the greatly enhanced marine search and rescue capability which I have insisted should be put in place and, second, the costs associated with the inquiry into the Ballycotton tragedy, an inquiry which I insisted upon in the interests of the truth and the prevention of a repetition of that event. I will now detail for the House the changes which have been necessitated and for which I am seeking its approval.
Subhead A3 — Commissions and special inquiries — calls for an additional sum of £618,000. This is in respect of the costs involved in conducting the formal investigation into the Ballycotton tragedy. While the legal costs of the Ballycotton tragedy have not yet been agreed, it will under the terms of the judge's report be necessary for me to meet these costs when they are determined. It is necessary therefore for me to make a provision in the Estimate and I have used as a basis the claims made.
Following the tragic loss of the lives of four officers of the South Western Regional Fisheries Board on 7 July 1990 off Ballycotton, County Cork, I appointed Captain W. A. Kirwan, Marine Surveyor of my Department and now head of the IMES, to report on the circumstances of the deaths and on what steps should be taken to prevent a recurrence. Captain Kirwan's report was presented to me in August 1990. Having carefully considered this report and taking account of public disquiet I decided that it would be in the public interest to hold a formal investigation into the incident under the Merchant Shipping Acts. In reaching this decision I was also conscious of my dual responsibilities for maritime safety and for overseeing the fisheries boards.
The investigation was held in February in City Hall, Cork, and was chaired by Judge Michael Reilly, who was assisted by two assessors, Commander John Jordan of the Naval Service and Captain John Allen of the Commissioners of Irish Lights. The court investigated all aspects of the incident at a public hearing. I received the report of the formal investigation in July. The report was made public on 17 July and advance photostat copies were made available to relatives of the deceased and other interested parties.
In relation to legal costs, the Merchant Shipping Acts, under which the formal investigation was conducted, provide that the court of formal investigation may make an order as to the costs. On concluding the investigation the court made an order awarding costs to a number of individuals. The additional allocation being sought is for the most part comprised of these costs. Also included are the practical costs and expenses which were involved in the setting up of the formal investigation. The money spent on this inquiry, I can assure the House, is not wasted money. The lessons learned are being taken on board and followed up with thoroughness.
An additional £137,000 is required under subhead B1 in respect of travel and incidental expenses. My Department, headquartered as it is in Dublin, have responsibilities which extend throughout the entire coastal waters of the State. These responsibilities are many and they cover safety, aquaculture development and regulation, sea fisheries development and regulation, harbour development and coastal protection, to instance a number. I take each of these responsibilities seriously and I insist on a proactive hands on approach by my Department in handling the issues as they arise. That means getting staff to where they need to be and keeping them there until the job is done. Some of the additional costs arising here will be recouped later through appropriations-in-aid — for example the costs associated with my Department's response to the Capitaine Pleven II marine emergency incident earlier this year.
I must point out to the House, and this reinforces my comments earlier about my Department's management of budgets in 1991, that expenditure under this subheading will be down substantially, by £63,000 in fact, on its level in 1990.
Nineteen ninety-one has seen the continuation of the implementation of the Fishery Harbours Development Programme, 1989-93. This programme provides for an investment of £20 million in our fishery harbours and attracts Structural Fund assistance under the Operational Programme for Rural Development of £7.5 million over the period 1991-93. The main objective of the programme is to provide an adequate infrastructure for the development of our fishing industry. It concentrates on the five fishery harbour centres at Rossaveel, Dunmore East, Howth, Killybegs, and Castletownbere, which are owned by my Department; a number of strategically located secondary harbours such as Dingle and Greencastle; and a small number of other harbours which cater for needs which cannot be satisfied elsewhere and which require improvement works.
In 1991 we have built on the progress made in former years. Work has continued apace on the major development works at Rossaveel, Dingle and Greencastle, while work was started on the restoration of Roundstone Pier, County Galway. Significant investments were also made in the continued upgrading of the fishery harbour centres. All told, almost £4 million will be spent on the development of fishery harbours this year. This level of investment illustrates my commitment to ensuring that our fishermen have the facilities necessary to land their fish and that the Irish economy derives the greatest benefit possible from the fishing resource.
In the particular context of the Supplementary Estimate an additional provision of £230,000 will be made in subhead E5 of the Vote, which covers the recreational berthage which is being provided as part of the Dingle Harbour Development together with the major improvement works which are underway at Inishbofin, County Mayo. I hope to complete the Inishbofin works this year and this will greatly improve facilities for the islanders and visitors to the island. This additional expenditure is offset by savings of £311,000 in other harbour programmes.
An additional provision of £300,000 is being proposed for subhead F1: An Bord Iascaigh Mhara — Administrative and Current Development (Grant-in-aid). There are, of course, other provisions in the Estimates for BIM, namely, subhead F2: An Bord Iascaigh Mhara — Capital Development (Grant-in-aid), £3,000,000, and subhead F3: Repayment of Advances, £1,250,000. In addition, non-Exchequer advances in respect of BIM total £1,700,000. Accordingly, the total allocation, by way of voted and non-voted advances totals £9,750,000.
The original allocation for 1991 under subhead F1 was £3,800,000. Early in the year the board of An Bord Iascaigh Mhara proposed to me that in the light of the allocations made to them they could deploy their resources to best effect so as to achieve their objectives by reallocating part of their resources between their current and voted capital allocations. Such a reallocation would enable the board to: maintain the training programme courses to meet safety requirements and statutory regulations and enable EC funds of £250,000 to be drawn down; continue the exploratory fishing programmes for prawns, tuna and other non-quota species; put in place projects aimed at commercialisation of growing techniques for scallops, clams, oysters, abalone, eels and turbot; undertake technical information programmes designed to facilitate the development of aquaculture and to support conditions for growth; and proceed with market promotional programmes in UK, France and Germany for shellfish, farmed salmon and herring. I agreed to this reallocation and Deputies will note that savings of £450,000 are being recorded on subhead F2: An Bord Iascaigh Mhara Capital Development (Grant-in-Aid).
I am more than satisfied that this reallocation has served useful purposes. In particular, I should mention the marketing programme. I had the honour to take part in a number of BIM's promotions, both at home and abroad, particularly of Irish aquaculture projects, which continue to increase their share of foreign markets and to maintain an unparalleled record for quality.
An additional £250,000 is being provided for subhead G — Inland Fisheries Development. This additional amount is being financed by savings elsewhere on the Marine Vote. Subhead G comprises seven distinct items but the principal component, over 80 per cent, relates to the provision for the financing of the Central and Regional Fisheries Boards. Allowing for internal adjustments within subhead G and the additional £250,000 now being provided, the increased allocation for the fisheries boards comes to £500,000. Virtually all of this increase has been allocated for specific unavoidable additional expenditures, especially of a safety and legal nature arising from the Ballycotton Inquiry and the recommendations contained in the report of that inquiry.
As regards the legal expenses, I have already adverted when dealing with subhead A3 to the exceptional legal expenses arising from the inquiry. In the case, however, of two of the fisheries boards — the Southern and Central — these were not made parties to the inquiry and the provision made in subhead A3 does not provide for the exceptional and substantial costs arising. These two boards participated in the inquiry with my full knowledge and support as matters arose for both boards which were important in the context of the inquiry both for the boards themselves and the inquiry. I am totally satisfied, having assessed the financial position of the boards and the exceptional and substantial nature of this expenditure, that it is reasonable and appropriate that these boards, which are largely financed by the Exchequer, should be put in funds to cover the costs involved.
I am also satisfied that it is reasonable to make provision for necessary expenditures incurred by the boards in implementing the safety recommendations of the Ballycotton Inquiry which cannot be met from the budgeted allocation for the boards. Total expenditure to date on additional personal safety equipment and radio and electronic equipment, along with the provision of training on the lines recommended by the Tribunal, comes to some £450,000. I am glad to be in a position to find the funds from savings to facilitate these expenditures and I am sure that all Deputies will support the allocation proposed.
As the House is aware, the Pollution Operations Group, operating under the aegis of my Department, managed to deal successfully with the grounding of the vessel Capitaine Pleven II and the subsequent pollution threat in Ballyvaughan earlier this year. A claim for compensation is being finalised in my Department at present and I am hopeful that it will be paid at an early date. In the meantime, of course, some of the payments for the operation have had to be made and this is the reason for the extra £12,000 requested for the marine emergency subhead, L1, for this year.
This operation reflected great credit on the rescue services, for which they were appropriately honoured, and on the Department's response. It is an indication of the focus which my Department have brought to bear on these kinds of crisis and the necessity to keep under review at all times and to update as and when necessary the arrangements in place for emergency response. Last night's accident is an indication of the truth of that statement.
A small additional cost, £3,000 in all, arises under subhead L. This subhead provides for those Irish merchant seamen who were lost or injured during the last war, together with their dependants. The extra £3,000 covers medical expenses arising in respect of a seaman who was injured during the course of the last war.
Another small additional cost, again £3,000, arises under subhead T, which covers fixed interest subsidies for shipbuilding under a programme dating back some years. Interest rate fluctuations account for the increase here.
Two factors account for the increase of £14,000 in the level of subhead M, subscriptions to international organisations. The first is currency fluctuations and the second, the major component, arises out of Irish participation in an international working group looking at the development of a navigational aid system — known as Loran C in north western Europe.
I touched earlier in my remarks on the handling of a potential pollution emergency earlier this year. I have no doubt that the most important development in so far as I am concerned for many years is the establishment of the new competent marine emergency service under the aegis of my Department. In the last year there have been further major improvements within my Department in relation to search and rescue. In this context I propose an increase of £500,000 in the provision under subhead V — Marine Emergency Service.
In February of this year, I announced the approval of the acceptance of a tender from Irish Helicopters for the operation of a medium range helicopter operating out of Shannon to cover our area of responsibility for search and rescue, and this is the context of the additional £500,000 being sought for this subhead.
On 15 July the Sikorsky S61N became operational at Shannon making all our plans a reality. The service operated by Irish Helicopters Limited, a subsidiary of Aer Lingus at a cost of £25 million over a five-and-a-half year contract period is equipped with rescue equipment, winch and marine communications.
The Sikorsky S61N responds to marine emergencies on a 24-hour basis nationally with 15 minutes notice needed by day and 45 minutes by night. The service has an operational radius of 200 nautical miles with a carrying capability of 15 survivors and more capacity available over shorter runs. The service complements the fast response capability of the lighter Dauphin helicopter operated by the Air Corps by providing greater range and greater carrying capacity.
Since the service came into operation on 15 July 1991 the Sikorsky S61N has carried out 55 rescue missions. Many of these missions have been undertaken in atrocious weather conditions around the south, south east and west coast. Rescues include medium range, control, mountain, air ambulance and medical evacuation. The severe weather conditions we have experienced over the last month or so and the increase in the number of callouts is proof in itself of the vital necessity for this service.
As a further commitment to a more effective emergency response capability, training of the staff of the Irish Marine Emergency Service (IMES) has commenced with seven staff from the Coast Radio Stations and the Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre just returned from a three week intensive search and rescue mission control course in the United Kingdom. The remaining staff will be trained at the Cork Regional Technical College commencing January 1992.
The Irish Marine Emergency Service in keeping with its responsibility for marine pollution response has organised a national oil pollution training course in Bantry from 2-6 December 1991 for 16 nominees from the coastal local authorities and 14 harbour authorities.
Radio equipment for a new marine rescue centre at Dublin IMES headquarters is on order and delivery is expected at the end of the year. Restructuring of the building to be used should commence soon.
It is planned to have the centre operational late March, early April, 1992. A new VHF station at Wicklow should be in operation at the same time.
The upgrading of the Commissioners of Irish Lights helipad at Blacksod for refuelling facilities has commenced and should be operational by the end of this year for the Sikorsky S61N. All of these achievements point to my commitment to strive for excellence in this area.
As I indicated to the House in my opening remarks, two factors have combined to allow these increased demands to be met. A total of ten subheads within my Vote will deliver savings which amount to £1,304,000. In addition to this, I am expecting to receive £762,000 in increased appropriations-in-aid. The major component of this increase relates to the fines and forfeitures in respect of the fishery offences sub-heading and this is attributed to a payment made in 1991 by the Department of Justice. Receipts under this heading are dependent on the number of arrests made, appeals concluded and other variable factors and by their nature are difficult to predict. In addition I anticipate other increased flows, for example, in respect of other licensing programmes operated by my Department. The bottom line, as I have indicated is the true Estimate which represents a net effect in relation to demands on the Exchequer.
In conclusion, molaim an Meastachán don Teach.
