The main purpose of this Bill is to enhance maritime safety by updating existing legislation and introducing new safety measures for vessels. The Bill will bring the licensing of vessels carrying not more than 12 passengers for reward within the scope of the Merchant Shipping Acts for the first time. It is a major change in the provisions for safety. It will also update the level of penalties for offences under existing legislation for vessels carrying more than 12 passengers and enable me to make regulations governing the safety of fishing vessels and pleasure craft.
Senators will be interested in the background to the Bill. The Merchant Shipping Acts, which are administered by my Department, apply to vessels which carry more than 12 passengers to sea or on rivers, canals, lakes or estuaries. They are required to hold a valid passenger certificate and they are subject to annual surveys which are conducted by the marine surveyors of my Department. The Acts and the rules and regulations made thereunder lay down detailed requirements in respect of safety on board such vessels.
Vessels may be inspected at any time by marine surveyors of my Department. Sixty vessels now hold valid passenger certificates. Many of the certificates apply to vessel operation in smooth or partially smooth waters and are valid for the summer months only. Improved liaison with the Garda Síochána and the institution of proceedings against illegal operators have reduced reported cases of overloading. Publicity campaigns advising persons wishing to take trips on vessels to check that such vessels hold valid passenger certificates and comply with the requirements of those certificates have also served to reduce reported irregularities.
The major remaining difficulty is the low level of fines being imposed by the courts on the owners or masters of vessels operating illegally. The fines are not an adequate financial deterrent to the illegal operator and I propose in this Bill to raise these fines substantially.
Furthermore, I propose to introduce a new provision enabling me to make regulations providing for on-the-spot fines for certain offences relating to pleasure craft. The pleasure craft safety working group will advise me on codes of practice in relation to safety but I see a need for the additional power to provide for on-the-spot fines in certain circumstances. This I would provide for in a new section 27.
Vessels which carry 12 passengers or fewer are currently outside the scope of the Merchant Shipping Acts. These vessels may be licensed by local authorities under the Public Health Acts. Boatmen's licences may also be issued by local authorities under the same legislation. However, there are no statutory requirements laying down safety standards for these vessels and, therefore, there are no criteria by which local authorities can assess applications for licences. The token level of fees and fines under the Public Health Acts and the discretionary nature of the licensing powers have resulted in the legislation being less than effective, and moribund in the case of many local authorities. In this Bill, I propose to bring vessels carrying 12 passengers or fewer within the scope of the Merchant Shipping Acts.
In relation to the larger passenger ferries, a review of the safety aspects of ferry transport has been ongoing since 1987 when the then Minister established the National Ferry Safety Committee. This standing committee is chaired by my Department's chief surveyor and includes representatives from the ferry companies. The committee reviewed safety procedures and standards on board Irish-registered ferries. It considers any measures necessary to improve safety and makes recommendations, as appropriate, to the ferry operators and to myself. Non-Irish-registered ferries calling to Irish ports are subject to periodic inspections carried out in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control to which Ireland is a contracting party.
A recent Royal National Lifeboat Institution report indicates that the greatest number of accidents around the Irish coast last year were in the pleasure craft and commercial fishing categories, hence the need for improved safety precautions in these sectors. In the pleasure craft sector my attention has also been drawn to the hazards and the noise posed by jet-skis. I have received complaints that their operators are encroaching on waters used extensively by bathers and children in small craft and thus posing a threat to them and a nuisance to others. This Bill represents a consolidation and improvement of passenger safety legislation. It is long overdue and I am sure that Senators will welcome its contents.
The increasing use of our seas and coastal waters for boating, sailing and other leisure activities is an indication of the potential for development in this area. We need to develop facilities for pleasure craft, including marinas, if Ireland is to attract its fair share of sailing visitors from overseas and market itself as a centre for major ocean races. However, it saddens me to see the extent to which tragedies occur because of failure to take basic safety precautions. The unpredictability of Irish weather and the vast power of the sea itself make seafaring hazardous, despite advances in vessel design. My Department strive to create an awareness of the importance of safety on our waters. Information, marine notices, booklets and pamphlets on particular aspects of safety are regularly brought to the attention of those involved.
While I am extremely pleased with the enhanced public awareness generated by campaigns already undertaken, the updating of the law in this area is necessary if tragic loss of life is to be prevented. In this connection, the Bill will allow me to make regulations governing the safety of pleasure craft covering, for example, the carriage of life-saving, radio and navigation equipment. Consultants with the various interest groups in pleasure craft activity by way of a pleasure craft safety working group have already begun as to the type of control needed in this area.
The expansion of the Irish fishing industry in recent years has been spectacular. While commercial fishing can be a profitable activity it can also be a very hazardous occupation. My Department have been involved in preparing educational material relating to the safety and operation of fishing vessels. However, as in the case of pleasure craft, I believe that the law in this area needs to be enhanced to ensure as far as possible the protection of the crews of fishing vessels. This Bill will enable me to make regulations governing the safety of fishing vessels and their crews. I have by means of a fishing vessel safety working group begun a process of consultation with representatives of the various interest groups involved in the fishing industry. I will be guided by the views of how working group on the need for and content of the secondary legislation or other measures needed in this area.
The State's commitment to the rescue of persons in distress at sea has been considerably boosted in the past year. Following the Government's acceptance of most of the recommendations of the Doherty report on Air/Sea Rescue Services a new marine emergency service was established within my Department last May. The service — Slánú — The Irish Marine Emergency Service has assumed responsibility for the operational aspects of maritime safety, rescue, shipwreck and sea and coastal pollution. A director and chief of operations have been recruited and arrangements are currently in progress for the integration into the service of the coast radio stations at Valentia and Malin Head, the Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Shannon and the cliff and coast rescue stations throughout the country. The marine pollution response team, to whom great credit is due for their handling of recent marine incidents where there was a threat of pollution, also comes under the aegis of Slánú.
In July 1991 an interim medium-range search and rescue helicopter commenced operations out of Shannon on a 24-hour basis. That helicopter was recently replaced by one specifically equipped to carry out rescues in conditions of very poor visibility. Since the service came into operation on 15 July 1991 80 rescue missions were carried out resulting in 57 lives being saved. Many of these missions have been undertaken in atrocious weather conditions around the south, south east and west coasts. With effect from last July, the Air Corps Dauphin helicopter which had been located at Shannon has been transferred to Finner Camp, County Donegal on a 24-hour response basis.
The Doherty report also recommended the setting up of a Maritime Safety Consultative Committee and working groups covering safety on fishing vessels, pleasure craft and other vessel types to come under the aegis of the committee. The main objective of the committee and its working groups is to keep me aware at all times of the concerns of the maritime community. The membership of the four safety working groups, that is, in addition to the National Ferry Safety Committee of which I spoke earlier, comprise maritime industry and interest group representatives.
The role of each working group is "to review safety procedures and standards on Irish vessels in its sector; to consider measures necessary to improve safety in these areas and to make recommendations to the Maritime Safety Consultative Committee; to consider legislative or other proposals, for example non-statutory codes of practice to improve standards or conditions in the sector; to consider safety matters referred to the Working Group by the Minister or his officials for observations; to consider complaints or proposals for improvement made by interest groups or other persons operating in the sector and where appropriate, to submit them to the Maritime Safety Consultative Committee; to submit an annual report to the Committee."
The fishing vessel and pleasure craft safety working groups are paying particular attention to the Bill before the House and will advise me, on an ongoing basis, through the Maritime Safety Consultative Committee of the measures to be regulated. This accounts for the Bill providing me with enabling powers to make regulations in relation to fishing vessels and pleasure craft. The preliminary meetings of the fishing vessel and pleasure craft safety working groups have already been held: those relating to public service vessels and merchant vessels will be held at an early date. This Bill provides me with the powers to make regulations and the committees will advise on the appropriate regulations.
I am very concerned at the dangers posed by submarine movements in the fishing grounds around our coast. My Department's chief surveyor at the most recent meeting of the International Maritime Organisation's General Assembly, proposed a resolution on the avoidance by submerged submarines of fishing vessels and their crews. The purpose of the Irish resolution, which was passed unanimously, is two-fold: first, to ensure that submarines navigating through areas where vessels are known to fish, use all available means for determining the presence of such vessels and their fishing gear, and second, to ensure that a submerged submarine, if information on the presence of a fishing vessel and its fishing gear is available, will avoid that fishing vessel and any fishing gear connected with it.
The International Maritime Organisation is asking its members to bring these recommendations to the attention of submarine commanders and to develop local arrangements to promote safety in areas used by submarines and fishing vessels. By raising this issue at the highest level in the International Maritime Organisation my intention is to focus the attention of the international maritime community on the problem and to stress the need for constant vigilance if a major tragedy is to be avoided.
I should now like to say a few words about the principal provisions of the Bill. Part I deals with the standard provisions of a Bill. Part II deals with vessels carrying more than 12 passengers and which are defined as "passengers ships". Section 6 provides that passenger ships shall be surveyed at least once each year. Section 7 provides that this survey shall be carried out by a duly appointed surveyor of ships and also by a radio surveyor if the ship is required to be provided with a radiotelegraph or radiotelephone installation who shall provide the owner of the vessel with a declaration of survey, if satisfied that it is in order to do so.
Section 8 provides that the Minister for the Marine, on receipt of the declaration of survey, shall issue a passenger ship's certificate to the owner, stating the limits, if any, beyond which the vessel shall not ply and the maximum number of passengers that the vessel shall carry. The certificate shall be subject to such conditions and restrictions as the Minister may impose. A certificate shall remain in force for a maximum period of one year. The Minister may refuse to grant a certificate where the owner has been previously convicted of a safety related offence.
Section 9 provides that the Minister for the Marine may revoke a certificate in cases where there has been an error in the declaration of survey, where false or misleading information has been given or where the condition of the vessel has changed since its survey. The Minister may revoke or suspend a certificate if its terms have not been fulfilled.
Section 10 requries the passenger certificate, or a copy thereof, to be displayed in a position in the vessel so that it is both visible and legible to all on board. Section 11 provides that a person shall not make a false or fraudulent declaration of survey or certificate nor alter such declaration or certificate. Section 12 provides that a vessel shall not operate as a passenger ship unless there is a certificate in force in relation to that vessel.
Section 13 provides that a vessel shall not operate as a passenger ship without insurance and that the owner shall provide a copy of the certificate of insurance to the Minister for the Marine. The certificate of insurance, or a copy thereof, shall also be clearly displayed on the vessel.
Part III of the Bill deals with vessels carrying not more than 12 passengers for reward, and defined as "passenger boats". Section 14 provides that a vessel shall not be used as a passenger boat unless there is a licence in force in relation to that vessel.
Section 15 provides that the Minister for the Marine, on the application of the owner of a vessel, shall grant a passenger boat licence to the owner if an authorised person has inspected the boat not more than two months prior to date of the application and has furnished a report to the Minister of the boat's suitability. The licence shall contain requirements as to the limits, if any, beyond which the vessel shall not ply and the maximum number of persons that the vessel is fit to carry. The licence shall be subject to such conditions and restrictions as the Minister may impose. The licence shall remain in force for a maximum of two years. The Minister may refuse to grant a licence where the owner has been previously convicted of a safety related offence.
Section 16 provides that the Minister for the Marine may revoke a licence in cases where there has been an error in the report of inspection of the vessel, where false or misleading information has been given, or where the condition of the vessel has changed since its inspection. The Minister may revoke or suspend a licence if its terms have not been met.
Section 17 provides that the master of a passenger boat must produce for inspection by an authorised officer his licence and/or proof of the boat's compliance with regulations, if any, with regard to insurance cover. This section also requires that the owner's name, licence serial number and maximum number of passengers licensed for carriage be painted on the outside of the vessel above the waterline.
Section 18 provides that the Minister for the Marine may make regulations to ensure the safety of passenger boats, their passengers and crews. The regulations may cover seaworthiness, construction and maintenance of vessel, life-saving, fire-fighting, radio and navigation equipment, insurance cover, crew competence and such other matters including the charging of fees as the Minister considers necessary or expedient. Different provisions may be made in the regulations for different classes of passenger boats. The section provides for stiff penalties for convictions for breaches of the regulations.
Part IV contains miscellaneous provisions, the most important of which I wish to mention. Section 19 provides that the Minister for the Marine may make regulations to ensure the safety of fishing vessels and their crews. The regulations may cover seaworthiness, construction and maintenance of vessel, life-saving, fire-fighting, radio and navigation equipment, periodic survey, crew competence and such other matters including the charging of fees as the Minister considers necessary or expedient. Different provisions may be made in the regulations for different classes of fishing vessels. There is provision in the section for substantial penalties for convictions for breach of these regulations.
Section 20 provides that the Minister for the Marine may make regulations to ensure the safety of pleasure craft and their occupants. The regulations may cover seaworthiness, construction and maintenance of vessel, life-saving, fire-fighting, radio and navigation equipment, periodic survey, and such other matters including the charging of fees as the Minister considers necessary or expedient. Different provisions may be made in the regulations for different classes of pleasure craft. There is provision in the section for substantial penalties for convictions for breach of these regulations. That section deals particularly with the safety of pleasure craft and of the people who occupy them.
Section 23 provides that where a master of, or a seaman employed in an Irish-registered vessel or on any vessel while it is in Irish territorial waters, engages in conduct which endangers his vessel or any other vessel, structure, equipment, or any person, he shall be guilty of an offence. Likewise, if his actions are proved to amount to neglect of duty due to being under the influence of alcohol or any drug, he shall be guilty of an offence.
Section 24 provides that the master of a vessel the subject of a certificate or licence may refuse to permit on board a person under the influence of alcohol or any other drug. The section also provides that it shall be an offence for a member of a vessel's crew to be on duty under the influence of aclohol or any other drug to such an extent that his ability to discharge his duties is imparied.
Section 25 provides that an authorised officer may board or stop a vessel, inspect and examine such vessel and documents or records thereon. A person who obstructs an authorised officer in the exercise of his functions shall be guilty of an offence.
Section 27 amends the Merchant Shipping Act, 1947, to provide for the recognition, by order of the Minister for the Marine, of maritime qualifications granted by foreign Governments, where the Minister is satisfied that these are adequate qualifications for service on Irish-registered vessels.
Section 29 provides that the owner of a vessel who applies to the Minister for the Marine for a licence or certificate shall furnish the Minister with such information as he may reasonably require for the purpose of his functions under the Bill, when enacted. A person who furnishes false or misleading information shall be guilty of an offence and the Minister may refuse to issue a certificate or grant a licence.
Section 30 provides for the payment of fees by the owners of vessels for survey, inspection and the issue of a certificate or grant of a licence.
Failure to meet the requirements of the Bill, when enacted, or of regulations made thereunder constitutes an offence. The Bill provides for a range of penalties for offences depending on their gravity. Penalties range from a fine not exceeding £200 on summary conviction for failure to produce a passenger boat licence to an authorised officer to a fine not exceeding £100,000 and/or up to two years' imprisonment for failure or refusal to comply with a requirement specified in a passenger certificate.
A variety of concerned organisations have been consulted in the preparation of this Bill. The National Safety Council see the Bill as complementing their efforts to promote water safety. Bord Fáilte in seeking to attract tourists place special emphasis on our relatively unpolluted waters and our water based leisure activities. For them safety is of paramount importance.
This Bill will provide a statutory basis for the safe operation of the different water based activities. It will enable recommendations along the lines made by the West Coast Search and Rescue Action Committee in their report, e.g. the introduction of annual safety equipment surveys for all Irish-registered fishing vessels and the fitting of EPIRBs — Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacons — in all commercial seagoing vessels and pleasure craft above a certain size, to be given statutory backing.
This Bill, by improving safety standards on passenger vessels and enabling me to introduce regulatory measures for other vessels, will go a long way towards preventing future tragedies in Irish waters. Through this Bill, we will ensure the safety of many lives from the point of view of fishing vessels, pleasure craft and major ferries. The Bill received wide support in Dáil Éireann and I trust that there will also be general agreement on its content in Seanad Éireann.