The purpose of the Bill is to modify certain provisions of the Pilotage Act, 1913, to facilitate the introduction of a more efficient, economical and up-to-date pilotage service at the port of Dublin. There has been a progressive increase, in recent years, in the cost of operating the existing pilotage service. It is clearly desirable to avoid further increases and, if possible, to reduce costs, as they are reflected ultimately in the cost of goods transported. For these reasons, I have been pressing the Dublin Port and Docks Board, who are the Pilotage Authority at Dublin, to introduce a comprehensive reorganisation scheme.
The scheme which they have prepared follows a comprehensive review of the technical and safety aspects of the pilotage service, the mechanics of providing the service and the relevant statutory provisions. The possible effects of the proposals on the remuneration and working conditions of the pilots concerned have also been borne in mind. The present elaborate system is, I am advised, no longer warranted having regard to improvements in the manoeuvring qualities of ships, radio and navigational aids, and the deepening of and other improvements to the harbour. It is against this background that the Pilotage Authority has devised the proposed new arrangements. The Dublin pilots have agreed in principle with the proposals.
Pilotage at Dublin is compulsory in an area bounded, on the seaward side, by an imaginary line which runs from Bray Head through points on the Kish Bank to Ireland's Eye. These limits are set out in the Dublin Pilotage Order, 1925, which was confirmed by the Pilotage Order (Confirmation) Act, 1926. With certain exceptions, every ship navigating in the district for the purpose of entering, leaving, or making use of any port in the district, must be under the pilotage of a pilot licensed by the Pilotage Authority. Among the exceptions are the cases where the Master or Mate of the vessel holds a certificate from the Pilotage Authority empowering him to pilot his vessel in the area, or the ship is of a class which is exempted from compulsory pilotage by the Pilotage Authority in accordance with statutory powers. In practice, and owing to the altered technical and physical conditions I have mentioned, the real need for pilotage has, in recent years, arisen in an area much smaller than that at present defined and the need for compulsory pilotage for smaller types of vessels has been reduced.
The obligation of the Pilotage Authority to provide service up to the limit of the existing district has made it necessary for the Authority to maintain a more expensive types of service than is now warranted. It is intended to reduce the compulsory pilotage district to an area bounded by an imaginary line through points between the Baily Lighthouse and Sorrento Point, extending some distance to seaward. Under this arrangement pilotage will have to be provided only in the area where it is, in fact, required. This reduction in the compulsory pilotage district can, however, be effected by means of a Pilotage Order made under the provisions of the 1913 Act, and it is not, therefore, necessary to deal with it in this Bill.
Among the existing statutory exemptions from compulsory pilotage is one which applies to coasting vessels up to 200 gross tons, not carrying passengers. The reorganisation proposals include raising this tonnage exemption limit and extending it also to Home Trade ships. Initially, the exemption would be conferred on certain unladen vessels but the Board propose to confer and extend exemptions gradually and over a fairly long period. This method will obviate any question of redundancy among the pilots and is, of itself, prudent, as it will enable the Authority to assess the practical effects of each exemption before considering any extension.
The procedure for exempting vessels from compulsory pilotage is laid down in the Pilotage Act, 1913. A pilotage authority may, under pilotage bye-laws, made under the Act and confirmed by the Minister for Transport and Power, exempt coasting and Home Trade vessels not carrying passengers from compulsory pilotage. Where, however, a bye-law appears to exempt a class of vessels which was not in practice exempt at the passing of the 1913 Act, the bye-law cannot become effective unless confirmed by an Act of the Oireachtas.
This procedure, which is a relic of a more leisurely parliamentary era, would in this case be unduly cumbersome as it would involve a fresh confirming Act at each stage of the proposed gradual extension of exemption. It is proposed, therefore, to repeal this requirement and to provide instead that when an exemption from compulsory pilotage is conferred by bye-law and the bye-law is confirmed by the Minister for Transport and Power, the relevant instrument shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and may be annulled by Resolution within 21 sitting days. Sections 5 and 6 of the Bill provide accordingly. It is an additional safeguard that, as in the case of pilotage orders, proposals to amend pilotage bye-laws must be publicised before being submitted for confirmation by the Minister.
The Dublin Port and Docks Board has carried out studied based on the assumption that the exemptions from compulsory pilotage would eventually extend to incoming vessels of 500 tons gross and out-going vessels and vessels shifting up to 750 tons gross. These studies suggest that if the exemptions mentioned were conferred there would be a reduction of about 45 per cent. in the number of vessels to be piloted. This would represent a very substantial relief both to the Pilotage Authority and to ship owners but would mean a loss of about 27 per cent in the revenue from pilotage charges. In terms of cash a loss of 27 per cent. of revenue would amount to about £11,000 per annum. The Board would find it necessary to recover part of this loss in order to render the pilotage service as a whole economic and has decided that it would have to impose a special reduced charge on the vessels it now proposes to exempt from compulsory pilotage; the special reduced charge is not yet settled but a rate equivalent to one-third of the appropriate charge for pilotage is under consideration. Such a charge is justified by the fact that a pilotage service will be available on call to these vessels if required. The charge will, in effect, amount to a contribution towards having this on-call service available. Under existing legislation, the proposed special charge could not be made, and the necessary provision is, therefore, being made in Sections 2 and 3 of the Bill.
The measures described are designed to reduce to an appropriate and realistic level the demand for pilotage service which must be met by the Pilotage Authority. This will, through time, reduce the cost of the service and confer savings in both time and cash on users of the port.
The Board also intends, under the powers to make bye-laws which it already enjoys, to introduce economies and improvements on the operational side of the service. The principal change will be the substitution for the existing pilot vessels of a shore pilot station from which ships will be served by small fast launches. The shore station will, also, improve the working conditions of the pilots. They will have recreational facilities while they wait on call and will be relieved of the discomfort and inconvenience involved in living aboard ship until their services are required—especially so in bad weather. I feel that the Board are to be congratulated on the thorough review they have carried out and the constructive proposals they have prepared.
The Bill as passed by Dáil Éireann contains, in Section 4, some minor provisions to amend Section 22 (1) of the Pilotage Act, 1913. The purpose of these was to revise in a minor way the arrangements for obtaining statistical returns from Pilotage Authorities and to relieve the Minister for Transport and Power of the obligation to present these returns to the Oireachtas. The wish was expressed by the Leader of the Opposition at the Committee Stage of the Bill in Dáil Éireann that the requirement that these returns should be presented to the Oireachtas might be retained and I undertook to have the Section dropped from the Bill.
I should like to add that in so far as the reorganisation proposals are concerned this Bill is an enabling measure. It will not, of itself, introduce changes in arrangements for pilotage at Dublin. These changes will be brought into effect by Pilotage Order and Pilotage Bye-laws made in accordance with a statutory procedure which is designed to safeguard the interests of all interested parties and to permit them to voice their views.
I confidently recommend this Bill to the House.
