Written Answers. - Water Pollution.
Michael Ring
Ceist:
75
Mr. Ring
asked the
Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources
if, in view of the recent Galapagos Islands environmental disaster, the marine emergency services have in place adequate emergency supplies to promptly deal with spillages of oil and or other contaminants off the north Mayo coastline.
[4340/01]
Overall responsibility for marine pollution prevention, preparedness, response and management is assigned to the Irish coastguard. This includes responsibility for dealing with all aspects of oil pollution of the sea and coastal areas, and in particular supervising the planning and implementation by local and harbour authorities of arrangements for the protection of coastal amenity/fishery/wildlife areas, the removal of oil from the coastline, and in the event of a major pollution incident, the direction and coordination of the onshore response.
The Sea Pollution (Amendment) Act, 1999, provides the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources with the legislative power to require harbours and ports, oil handling facilities, and maritime local authorities to submit contingency plans, based on realistic risk assessment, for approval by the coastguard. Templates for these plans have been provided to the harbour and port authorities which require risk assessment and a comprehensive breakdown of their risk management facilities – command and control, communications, manpower, equipment, training, and exercises. These contingency plans are part of the overall national plan, also required by the above Act, which is being prepared by the coast guard.
The coastguard has provided national pollution management courses for approximately 40 harbour-port and local authority personnel per year for the past number of years. These courses are based on the International Maritime Organisation standards. Due to the demand it is intended to increase these courses from two to three per year catering for 60 participants. The coastguard also sends harbour-port and local authority personnel on European courses provided by the EU.
The coastguard has national stockpiles of equipment at Killybegs, Castletownbere and Dublin. This equipment is used in the pollution courses and as far as possible compliments the equipment held at the harbours and ports. This equipment is valued at over £2 million and is being added to each year. The equipment is divided into 30% off-shore response and 70% on-shore response.
No country has sufficient state equipment to respond to every pollution emergency. However, there are commercial companies who will provide equipment on request and guarantee it will be on-site within 12 to 24 hours. The coastguard has my authority to contract equipment as required. Ireland has been invited to accede to the Bonn agreement. This agreement is between north European countries and provides for mutual support in marine pollution incidents. Ireland is also a member of the EU pollution management committee which can provide experts and support drawn from other EU countries in support of a member state response.
The coastguard can call on its marine pollution response team in major emergencies. This team is made up of coastguard and marine surveyors office personnel from my Department and local and harbour-port authority personnel. This team has managed emergencies very competently in the past.
I have Government approval to further study the provision of emergency towing vessels on the south west approaches and the Irish Sea for intervention and pollution prevent in marine emergencies. This approval followed the publication on the ETV study.
I am awaiting a report from the marine emergency advisory group on aerial surveillance remote sensing. This facility would provide a detection and deterrent of pollution and the means to prosecute illegal discharge in the Irish pollution responsibility zone. Marine pollution response in Ireland is continuously developing and co-operation between harbour-port and local authorities and the oil companies is strongly encouraged and facilitated by the coastguard.
