Frances Fitzgerald
Ceist:174 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if he has satisfied himself that our law adequately protects our maritime assets in view of recent reports. [25133/00]
Written Answers. - Legislative Programme.
I am not aware of the recent reports to which the Deputy refers. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982 was ratified by Ireland in 1996 and as far as I am con cerned all measures required to protect our entitlements under that convention have been taken.
The Deputy will also be aware from my reply to Parliamentary Questions No. 112 and No. 114 of 17 October 2000 that the heads of the law of the sea (prevention of acts of piracy) Bill, 2000 were approved by the Government on 4 October and have been transmitted to the Attorney General's office for drafting in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government. The target date for publication of this Bill in the Government legislation programme is mid-2001 at the latest. The objective of the proposed new legislation is to provide a framework in Irish law to deal with cases of harassment and intimidation at sea. The proposals, which are based on the piracy provisions of the aforementioned United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, involve the giving of powers of arrest to the naval authorities in circumstances where a vessel is suspected of having caused malicious damage to another vessel or gear. Such powers will, it is envisaged, apply both within the 12 mile territorial limit and on the high seas within the 200 mile limit.