The Deputy aired her concern about the indiscriminate use of jet skis and other recreational fast power craft. While power craft sports are a legitimate form of marine leisure activity, there is clearly an onus on participants in these sports to behave with the utmost regard for the safety of other water users. The level of concern expressed by Deputies, public agencies and members of the public suggests there are instances where, perhaps inexperienced operators of these craft, have shown scant regard for safety. Safety must be a primary and integral part of water sports activities, particularly where power craft are involved.
Jet skis, which are also known as personal water craft, together with speed boats, are the most commonly cited craft which have given rise to public concern. My overriding concern, as Minister with responsibility for the prevention of loss of life at sea and the promotion of sustainable development of marine tourism and leisure, is to ensure such craft are operated in a safe and responsible manner. I have identified the need for action on a number of fronts. A marine safety working group operates under the chairmanship of the director of the Irish marine emergency service of my Department, with the aim of creating and communicating marine safety information and messages to endeavour to reduce accidents and to prevent loss of life in Irish waters. The safety working group meets regularly and has produced a number of Safety on the Water booklets, leaflets and posters for widespread dissemination.
I have asked this group to prepare urgently a safety code which will address the safe operation of jet skis and other fast recreational power craft in Ireland. The purpose of the code will be to heighten awareness of the requirement to operate such craft in a safe manner, with particular regard to the safety of other users of our water based leisure resource. In drawing up the code, the group will draw on the existing Irish and international experience in this field. I have asked the group to produce an interim code for dissemination in a matter of weeks. I intend to ensure this safety code is communicated to purchasers and users of jet skis and fast craft. Suppliers of such craft will be asked to assist in disseminating such information, whether purchased or hired. Local authorities will be requested to post the code in areas where jet skis and fast craft are used. Deputy Hanafin is correct in stating that any person of any age can own and use a jet ski.
I have asked the Marine Institute, whose functions include the promotion of the sustainable development of the marine leisure resource, to immediately examine, with the benefit of independent expertise as necessary, the options for the management of the operation of such craft. I intend the examination will, among other things, look at appropriate statutory and non-statutory models for management and promotion of the safe use of such craft. The institute will liaise closely with my Department in the matter and will draw on management models at a number of locations in Ireland and elsewhere.
I intend to explore further with the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the appropriate role for local authorities in the control of recreational power craft, with particular reference to local authorities' functions in the development and management of water based leisure in their areas. In any event, the Marine Institute's examination of the matter will involve assessing the most appropriate local authority input. It is also worth noting the published coastal zone management report and discussion document, commissioned by the Department of the Environment and Local Government, the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands which was prepared by Brady Shipman Martin. The discussion document identified that, within the tourism and leisure area, policies of limitation and curtailment on tourism and leisure development and use are likely to be necessary to deal with the increasing pressures, possibly coupled with a greater emphasis on quality rather than quantity. The proposals in the report and discussion document for zonation of coastal areas will clearly have to address the use of the coastal zone for marine leisure, including the operation of recreational fast power craft. Accordingly, proposals for regulating such craft must take cognisance of the context in which wider proposals are being considered for coastal zone management.
It is clear the control of recreational fast power craft must be addressed on a number of fronts. My immediate concern is to ensure progress is made as a matter of urgency in raising safety awareness among the users of such craft. The use of statutory mechanisms to regulate such craft is complex from both safety and legal perspectives, but I am determined that, if statutory measures are identified as being necessary, the various public agencies will agree on a plan of action to implement them.
As one who lives in possibly one of the most beautiful places in the country, the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford, I am well aware of the concerns raised by the Deputy.
