Vol. 504 No. 6
16 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if he has received the report of the chief marine surveyor into a drowning incident in October 1998 at the Forty Foot, Sandycove, Dublin; if so, the findings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12419/99]
An inquest with a jury was held on 2 December 1998 by the Coroner for the County of Dublin, into the death of a person who died from drowning at the forty foot bathing place on 16 October 1998. Following the inquest, the coroner wrote to me advising that the jury recommended that a competent inquiry be undertaken, with a view to establishing the nature of any changes in sea conditions attributable to HSS vessels.
Following the inquest, I asked the chief surveyor of the Marine Survey Office to examine this matter further and to advise if a review of the measures already in place in relation to the operation of the HSS vessel in Dublin Bay is warranted. As I have stated in a previous reply to a parliamentary question in this matter, the report in question is not into the drowning of a person which was the subject of an inquest in the normal way, but rather is a review of the position in relation to waves generated by the HSS vessel operated by Stena Line between Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire.
The chief surveyor has now completed his report and, in accordance with standard practice in these matters, I have asked the Attorney General's office for advice from the legal perspective as it is my intention to make public this report shortly. I am also having examined the possibility of having the main findings and recommendations released in advance of publishing the full report.
