I am committed to ensuring the highest levels of safety at sea which can only be achieved by a three-pronged approach comprising statutory regulation and enforcement, the promotion of safety awareness and the provision of the highest quality marine emergency services.
As regards the tragic accidents that occurred off the west coast recently, these vessels were not part of the Irish fleet and, as such, were not subject to the safety regime which applies to Irish-registered vessels. That being said, every vessel operating in or transiting our search and rescue region is entitled to and will receive appropriate protection from our emergency services. My Department, in partnership with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, has established marine search and rescue services which are second to none in Europe in terms of resources, readiness, training and management.
In terms of the prevention of accidents at sea, my aim is to ensure that the appropriate regulatory framework is in place to ensure that all Irish registered vessels operating to and from Ireland are constructed, maintained and operated to acceptable international safety standards. To that end, a programme of work is currently being undertaken in my Department to update our maritime law and ensure that all EU Council directives and all relevant international maritime safety conventions, including amendments to SOLAS – safety of life at sea – and STCW – standards of training, certification and watchkeeping – are fully implemented. The enforcement of these regulations is carried out by the marine survey office of my Department.
My Department is committed to an ongoing campaign of safety awareness. This work is undertaken in conjunction with a number of State agencies and other bodies such as the RNLI.
I will now address the question of protection for trawlers at sea. Since publication of the report of the fishing vessel safety review group in 1996, it has been a priority for my Department to implement its recommendations and objectives to the greatest possible extent. In 1999 my Department established a fishing vessels safety implementation group to assess progress and identify further priority areas for action. A harmonised safety regime for fishing vessels over 24 metres in length was brought into force in 1999.
Additional Information.Further priority areas for action were identified and as a result safety regulations for vessels of 12 to 24 metres and six to 12 metres have been drafted and it is expected that they will be in place very shortly. A code of safety practice for vessels under six metres is also being developed and four additional training instructors have been appointed by Bord Iascaigh Mhara arising from the new radio regulations. In addition, £500,000 has been provided in my Department's Vote this year to establish a network of offshore weather and research buoys which will do much to improve weather forecasting and safety at sea.
The development of a comprehensive safety programme for the sea fishing sector involves ongoing consultation with the fishing industry, which has a vitally important part to play in developing a safety culture among fishermen. A formal liaison process has been established between the fishing vessel safety implementation group and the industry, which is working very well.