The Bill marks a decisive step in developing a strategy for the healthy management of the marine resource and for the protection of the environment of our seas and oceans.
When it becomes law the Bill will enable Ireland to give effect to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, generally known as the OSPAR Convention; extend the limit of Irish control in relation to dumping from 12 miles up to 200 miles and in some areas up to 350 miles off the Irish coast depending on the extent of our Continental Shelf; apply strict limitations on the types of substances which can be disposed at sea; ban incineration at sea, the dumping of radioactive wastes; toxic, harmful or noxious substances and provide new enforcement powers and tougher penalties.
The previous exemptions which existed for State vessels, including military vessels, will no longer apply. The Government has decided that, although dumping by State vessels is legally permitted under international conventions, it is no longer appropriate that Governments should be exempt from the restrictions imposed on others by these conventions. No state, and particularly no coastal state, can ignore its duties of stewardship of the world's oceans and seas. It is incumbent on Ireland, and all other states bordering on the world's extensive and complex marine resource, to ensure that it is passed on to the next generations in a sound and healthy state. We ignore this duty at our peril.
Our knowledge of the physical, chemical and biological processes of our seas and oceans is far from complete. However, we know they are fragile. They are threatened every day by the effect of onshore and offshore activities and they are at risk of long-term damage from visible and invisible processes and actions, the impact of only some of which we fully understand. Other more insidious damage is inevitably occurring; we cannot await the luxury of the establishment of clear casual relationships in framing and implementing protective measures. We must also strive to better understand the marine environment, the impact of man's activities on its health, both in the short term and the long term. Damage done now may be irreversible in the future. Our policy, and that of the global community, is to take strong preventative and protective action now and, at the same time, to further our understanding and knowledge of the marine resource.
Approximately 70 per cent of the earth's surface is covered by oceans. As I said, the waters and resources of the seas and oceans are fragile, complex and only partly understood. While coastal states strive to protect their coastlines from misuse or abuse, it is only by concerted and co-ordinated efforts of nations that damage, often insidious in nature, can be avoided. Due to the nature of the marine system, local action alone will not protect national coastlines, and still less the quality of the high seas. We cannot, therefore, control deep sea pollution without solid, unambiguous agreements between governments.
The OSPAR Convention provides a basic and effective framework for the protection of the marine environment. It is aimed at an extensive ocean area of the north-east Atlantic, which borders the majority of the countries of the continent of Europe. It is an area of intensive economic and industrial activity where the adjacent seas are particularly threatened by pollution. National measures must be combined with international agreement to reduce the input of pollutants to the marine environment.
As an island nation close to major shipping lanes, Ireland is particularly vulnerable to the effects of marine casualties, oil spills and wilful disposal of wastes in the north Atlantic. Thus, we have a very special interest in promoting protection of the marine environment in the interest of human health, marine life and amenity values. We also have a deeply principled interest in ensuring that our stewardship of our adjacent seas and oceans will be seen by future users of the resource to have been wise and farsighted. Ireland is party to a number of international conventions designed to protect the marine environment, in addition to the OSPAR Convention. It is useful to review the body of national and international law so the House can put the Bill into the overall context in that regard.
Ireland became party to the London (Dumping) Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, 1972, at the same time as the Oslo Convention. The Dumping At Sea Act, 1981, gives effect to both conventions. The London Convention, unlike the OSPAR Convention, applies globally and has been globally adopted by the International Maritime Organisation. The terms of the convention are similar to the Oslo Convention and the new OSPAR Convention. In general, environmental protection trends set under the Oslo and OSPAR Conventions progress to consideration and adoption by the London Convention. The London Convention is currently under review, following the adoption by the north-eastern European states of the OSPAR Convention in 1992.
Ireland is also party to the Intervention on the High Seas Convention in case of Oil Pollution Casualties, 1969, and its 1973 Protocol on intervention in cases of pollution by substances other than oil. The Sea Pollution Act, 1991, gives effect to this convention. This Act enables the Minister, following a maritime casualty, to give directions for the purpose of preventing, mitigating or eliminating danger from pollution or threat of pollution by oil or any other harmful substance to the owner or master of a ship which is outside territorial waters. Where the response of the owner or master of such vessels to such directions is inadequate, the Minister may take such actions and do such things as he thinks necessary and reasonable to prevent, mitigate or eliminate the effects of pollution.
Ireland is party to MARPOL 73/78. The Sea Pollution Act, 1991, also gives effect to the MARPOL Convention and its 1978 Protocolumn The Act prohibits or controls the operational discharge of marine pollutants from ships through the establishment of operational discharge criteria and vessel construction and equipment standards. Three sets of regulations made in 1994 under the Sea Pollution Act, 1991, on the prevention of pollution by oil, the control of pollution by noxious liquid substances in bulk and the prevention of pollution by garbage, give effect to three of the annexes which form an integral part of MARPOL 73/78.
The Oil Pollution of the Sea (Civil Liability and Compensation) Act, 1988, gives effect to the Civil Liability and Compensation Conventions, 1969, and their 1971 Protocols. The Act requires oil tankers carrying 2,000 tonnes or more of oil in bulk as cargo to hold specified insurance cover. Oil importers receiving more than 150,000 tonnes of oil per annum into the country are required to contribute to the compensation fund established under the above mentioned conventions.
The Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Wreck) Act, 1993, gave effect to the International Convention of Salvage, 1989. It made an important further contribution to the procedures for dealing with maritime casualties. An orderly system for handling the three main phases of a casualty at sea was introduced, namely, vessels in distress, salvage operations and, where necessary, the removal or rendering harmless of ensuing wrecks. This Act strengthens the role of both the Department of the Marine's emergency service and its marine survey office, where professionalism and operational capacity have been greatly upgraded in recent years. In particular, rescue operations now have a firm legislative base.
The Act places responsibility on owners for the removal or rendering harmless of their wrecks and has given a new role to public authorities in ensuring that owners of wrecks adhere to their responsibilities. Wrecks of historical interest are also dealt with and the Director of the National Museum will have the right of first refusal on any unclaimed wreck around the coast. Commercial salvage operations are often high risk affairs which need careful regulation if they are to strike the right balance between the interests of the State, shipowners, salvers and the environment. The Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Wreck) Act strikes that balance.
Plans are in train for accession to the 1990 Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention. This convention is concerned with preparedness and response issues related to oil pollution emergencies. It will be expanded in the near future to include emergencies involving hazardous and noxious substances. The convention is designed to facilitate international co-operation and mutual assistance in preparing for and responding to major pollution incidents and to encourage states to develop and maintain an adequate capability to deal with pollution emergencies.
A memorandum of understanding between Ireland and the UK on cooperation/assistance in search and rescue and pollution control in the Irish Sea is being negotiated and will in due course contribute to our ability to tackle marine pollution in the area.
The House will appreciate from this review that there is a strong body of law in place to deal with marine pollution. This is kept under constant review, as is our operational capacity to implement it in an effective manner.
I will now deal in some detail with the convention which the Bill intends to carry into Irish law. As I have already mentioned, the Bill before the House will enable Ireland to ratify the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, which is known as the OSPAR Convention. In September 1992, the Government authorised the Minister for Foreign Affairs to arrange for signature, subject to ratification, of this convention.
Marine pollution in the area of the north-east Atlantic has been covered since the 1970s by two separate conventions, in which Ireland has participated. The OSPAR Convention is effectively an amalgamation of them. These conventions are the Oslo Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft (1972) and the Paris Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Land Based Sources (1974).
The Oslo Convention is administered by the Department of the Marine. The Paris Convention is primarily the concern of the Department of the Environment but the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications also plays a role with regard to controlling the discharge of radioactive substances, including wastes from land-based sources. All EU member states — excluding Austria — Iceland and Norway are party to both conventions. The EU is party to the Paris Convention and has observer status in the Oslo Convention. Contracting parties to both conventions have signed the OSPAR Convention. In addition to these contracting parties, Switzerland has also signed the convention.
The new convention takes account of developments since the original Oslo and Paris Conventions were signed in 1972 and 1974, respectively, and merges and consolidates their provisions. The OSPAR Convention attaches particular importance to the need to increase our knowledge of the state and science of the north-east Atlantic. Contracting parties to the new OSPAR Convention have been preparing for the ratification of the new convention by agreeing on new scientific committees. Preparations are under way for the completion of a quality status report for the entire convention area by the year 2000.
Ireland and the UK will be responsible for the preparation of the report in respect of the Irish Sea, Celtic Sea, the area to the west of Ireland and the area to the west of Scotland. These reports will comprehensively assess the health of our adjacent seas under a detailed set of criteria. They will constitute an invaluable input to policy with regard to the sustainable development of the marine resource. We are currently in consultation with the UK and Northern Ireland authorities about the management of this large, but potentially extremely valuable task.
I would like to raise in this context the question of munitions dumping in our adjacent seas as the quality status report and the OSPAR Convention generally represent the most appropriate means to address this vexed issue. Up to now it is through the Oslo Convention that the issue of dumping by the UK of chemical and other weapons from World War II has been pursued. Such dumping is a matter of major concern to many of the contracting parties to the Oslo Convention. We will be ensuring that the impact of the dumping of chemical weapons off the coast of Ireland and the UK will be specifically addressed in the quality status report as a matter of priority.
My colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of the Marine, Deputy Gilmore, met with the Minister for the Environment, Scottish Office, Lord Lindsay, and Secretary of State for Defence, Lord Howe, in London recently to discuss the drawing up of a management plan for the Beaufort Dyke munitions dumpsite, which is situated off the coast of Larne. Lords Howe and Lindsay confirmed that while there is no conclusive evidence that the laying of the British Gas pipeline disturbed munitions in the Beaufort Dyke, they accept that it is likely that this is the case. A firm commitment from the UK Government to put in place a system of monitoring and management of the dumpsite was secured.
A number of key points were agreed. In the first instance, the Scottish Office will undertake a new study beginning this month on the Beaufort Dyke munitions dumpsite in order to remap and rechart the extent of the dumpsite and the distribution of munitions within the site. Second, it was agreed that UK and Irish scientists will co-operate on the methodology and methods of analysis for the study and they will jointly review the data emerging. UK scientists and scientists from the Marine Institute have been liaising in this regard. Third, the gas pipeline between Scotland and Northern Ireland will not be commissioned until its safety has been assured following assessment by the UK Health and Safety Executive. UK and Irish scientists will liaise in relation to this issue. Fourth, the remapping of the dumpsite will be complete before a decision is made on the route of the proposed electricity interconnector between Scotland and Northern Ireland. The installation of the interconnector will draw on lessons learned from the laying of the gas pipeline. Fifth, based on the studies which are now to be carried out, UK Ministries intend to issue guidelines on the management of activity around the dumpsite. Sixth, when the 1996 study of the Beaufort dumpsite is completed, there will be a further meeting in Dublin between the two UK Ministers and the Minister of State at the Department of the Marine, Deputy Gilmore, to assess the results and to discuss what further steps are required at that stage. I am pleased with the outcome of this meeting and I am satisfied that a high degree of co-operation has been achieved.
On the international front, I have also raised this issue with the EU Commissioner and I particularly welcome her intervention. She has indicated that she intends to raise with the UK Government whether there are issues in relation to the dump sites which could be solved at Community or international level. It is also through the Oslo Convention that agreement has been reached globally on the termination of the disposal at sea of industrial waste. Such wastes have not been disposed of at sea in Ireland since July 1993.
The new OSPAR Convention generally obliges contracting parties to adopt, individually and jointly, programmes and measures involving the use of best available techniques, best environmental practice and, where appropriate, clean technology for the purpose of prevention and eliminating marine pollution and protecting the maritime area covered by the convention against adverse effects of human activities. The new convention provides a stricter marine environmental regime, establishes mechanisms for the protection of the marine environment, allows more in-depth considerations of ideas and proposals affecting the marine environment through an increased number of scientific working groups, operates on a precautionary principle where countries are asked not to licence activities where there is any question of damage to the marine environment and provides an arbitration mechanism for the settlement of disputes involving transboundary pollution.
The Government is anxious to ratify the convention as soon as possible. It is seen as essential that we equip ourselves with the powers to implement urgently and effectively the marine pollution control regime in the convention. It is also essential that we, as a nation, are not seen to be behind in ratifying this convention.
An important objective in ratifying the convention is, however, to open the way for the possibility of initiating arbitration between Ireland and the UK arising from the increased discharges from Sellafield since the start-up of THORP. As Members are aware, this Government is opposed to the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and is seeking the closure of Sellafield/THORP plant and the halting of any future expansion. An interdepartmental committee on the Irish Sea has been established in order to progress Government policy on Sellafield and the Irish Sea in line with the commitments given in A Government of Renewal.
The operation of the THORP plant results in the transportation near our shores of nuclear materials. I have serious concerns regarding this matter. We are not alone in this concern. Small island states and other coastal states worldwide have been vocal in international fora with regard to the transportation of such material. This led to the adoption in 1993 of the International Maritime Organisation Code on the Safe Carriage of Irradiated Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium and High Level Radioactive Wastes in Flasks on Board Ships, the INF Code. The code lays down standards for construction, equipment and operation of ships engaged in the carriage of irradiated nuclear fuel, plutonium and high level radioactive wastes.
At the International Maritime Organisations' assembly in London last November my colleague at the Department of the Marine, Deputy Gilmore, secured agreement with representatives of the 152 countries in the IMO to adopt Ireland's resolution governing the shipment of nuclear materials and to strengthen the INF Code. Ireland's resolution seeks to address the deficiencies in the INF code. The resolution instructs the IMO's Marine Safety Committee and the Marine Environment Protection Committee to consider extending the INF Code to include the following: route planning, notification to the coastal state, marking of flasks, protection and salvage plans in the event of emergencies and the designation of sensitive areas in which nuclear shipments must take place.
The deputy chief surveyor of the Department's marine survey office represents Ireland on both the MSC and MEPC. These committees have been instructed to thoroughly examine Ireland's proposal and to report to the next assembly of the IMO next year with recommendations as to how the INF Code should be strengthened. I am confident that procedures to strengthen the code will have been considered and prepared in time for the next IMO assembly.
In view of the concerns expressed by Ireland and supported by other IMO countries, a special consultative meeting to discuss the code, in advance of consideration of it by the MSC and the MEPC, was called by the secretary general of the IMO recently. Ireland was represented at this meeting by the deputy chief surveyor of the Department of the Marine and the assistant chief executive of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland. Ireland made a detailed presentation at the meeting calling on the code to be strengthened. There was considerable support for Ireland's position. The MSC and the MEPC will take on board the views expressed at that meeting when preparing their recommendations for the strengthening of the code. I will be pursuing every avenue open to me to ensure that a tough new code governing the shipment of nuclear materials is put in place.
Three Departments of State have obligations under the OSPAR Convention — the Department of the Environment is responsible for the prevention of marine pollution from land based sources; the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications is responsible for the prevention of pollution from offshore installations and for the discharge at sea of radioactive substances and the Department of the Marine is responsible for the prevention of marine pollution by dumping at sea. Sufficient statutory support to implement the provisions of the convention on pollution from land based sources already exists in the Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts, 1977 to 1990, the Air Pollution Act, 1987 and the Environmental Protection Act, 1992. The Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1995, which was enacted in December provides an updated legislative framework for provisions relating to discharges or emissions from offshore installations and pipelines, abandonment of offshore installations and placement of disused offshore installations and pipelines in the sea for a purpose other than originally intended.
The provisions of the convention relating to dumping at sea require that new domestic legislation be enacted to give full effect to the convention. Legal advice is that the most appropriate way to amend the Dumping at Sea Act, 1981, is to repeal the existing legislation and to enact a new Dumping at Sea Act. We have taken this opportunity to carry out a full review of the dumping at sea legislation.
I want to advise Senators of the key provisions of the Bill before the House and to comment on the extent to which they enhance the provisions of the Dumping at Sea Act, 1981. The term "dumping" is redefined to bring into the regulatory net all forms of dredging techniques developed since the 1981 Act and includes deliberate disposal at sea of vessels or aircraft as well as substances or material from or in conjunction with a vessel and aircraft.
The maritime area to which the Bill applies has been extended beyond the 12 nautical mile territorial seas limit. It will now extend 200 miles and, in some cases, up to 350 miles off the Irish coast depending on the extent of our Continental Shelf. Ireland expects to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, in the near future and, under the terms of that convention, contracting parties may exercise control of the maritime environment out to those limits. This is a major development. Up to now Ireland was only in a position to regulate out to 12 miles. Our control over the marine environment will be greatly enhanced by this provision.
The Dumping at Sea Act, 1981, prohibits the dumping of substances or material except in accordance with a permit issued by the Minister or a contracting party in the OSPAR Convention if it is in their maritime area. In line with the new convention the Bill before the House clearly specifies what may not be dumped at sea, thus doing away with any misconceptions or ambiguities.
The Bill strictly prohibits the incineration of substances or material at sea, the disposal at sea of low, intermediate and high level radioactive substances or material, the disposal at sea of toxic, harmful or noxious substances and the disposal at sea of sewage sludge after 31 December 1998. A permit may be granted for the disposal of radioactive substances or material below low level subject to consultation between the Minister for the Marine and the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland. This is intended to allow the dumping of materials, such as dredge spoil, which are found to contain trace or negligible levels of radioactivity. The House may be aware that all substances and material contain some level of naturally occurring radioactivity. The Radiological Protection Institute is guided by the European Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency in defining below low levels.
The OSPAR Convention has also been instrumental in addressing the issue of the disposal at sea of sewage sludge. Dumping by Dublin Corporation, Ireland's only authorised sewage sludge dumper, is being phased out and will be terminated by the end of 1998. Alternative land based methods of treatment and disposal are being developed by Dublin Corporation with that time frame in mind.
The Bill before the House deals exclusively with the regulation and control of dumping at sea and does not regulate the discharge of sewage to coastal waters. However, I would like to take this opportunity to advise the House of the Government's commitment to tackling the problem of discharges of raw sewage to coastal waters by means of a major programme of investment in sewage treatment facilities around our estuaries and coasts. Under the terms of the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, secondary treatment will be required in all cases by the end of the year 2005.
The size of the task facing us is best illustrated by the fact that only 14 per cent of sewage discharges are currently connected to secondary treatment plants. As some 80 per cent of sewage wastes discharge to the marine environment, the vast bulk of the £1.3 billion investment programme required under the directive will be spent in estuarine/coastal areas. Taken together with the dispersed nature of our population, it is clear that a major programme of works covering numerous locations will be implemented over the next decade. The overall planning and financial framework for this is being established by the Minister for the Environment with the detailed planning and implementation being the responsibility of local authorities. I am confident that the level of investment involved will give rise to significant improvements in water around our coasts.
The 1992 OSPAR Convention prohibits the dumping of wastes or other matter from offshore installations. It allows dumping of an offshore installation under a permit issued by the competent authority of the relevant contracting party on a case by case basis. No permit for an offshore installation shall be issued, however, if the disused installation contains substances which are likely to be deleterious to human health, living marine resources or would damage amenities or interfere with other uses of the sea.
Last May, following pressure from the majority of contracting parties to the Oslo Convention, Shell UK Limited decided not to proceed with the proposed disposal at sea of the offshore installation, the Brent Spar. At the OSPAR Commission meeting in June, agreement was reached by all contracting parties to the convention, except the UK and Norway, on a moratorium on the disposal at sea of decommissioned offshore installations until a formal decision was adopted, by 1997 at the latest. The UK and Norway have however agreed informally to be bound by the terms of the moratorium. The moratorium is intended to operate pending formal OSPAR adoption of a decision banning outright the sea dumping of offshore installations.
The Government adopts the precautionary approach in relation to the protection of the marine environment. In the absence of sound scientific evidence that the dumping of offshore installations does not impact on the marine environment, we must legislate for the complete ban of sea disposal of offshore installations. We will be pressing in OSPAR for a continuation of the current moratorium; indeed, we will be seeking to make the current ban obligatory on all OSPAR states by way of having it formally enshrined in the convention.
I would regard the situation, involving dumping unregulated by the international community, as inappropriate given the irrelevance of maritime borders for the impact of marine pollution. Since the introduction of the Bill matters have progressed somewhat within OSPAR. An internationally sound basis for selective dumping may emerge which allows for an authoritative risk categorisation of installations. This would determine which installations may or may not be dumped. It may well include regulatory controls, underpinned by an internationally agreed monitoring and policing regime, which would oversee the identification of offshore installations which could be considered for dumping, the identification of suitable dump sites, preparation of the installations for dumping and the dumping operations themselves.
A special working group of OSPAR experts is currently studying this whole issue. The EU is also preparing a report in the matter. Thus, while it is our policy to maintain the ban, the alternative of a properly controlled dumping regime may emerge in its stead. On that basis, I will be proposing an amendment to the Bill on Committee Stage which will allow for this possible outcome following a review in the future of the complete ban.
The amendment is being proposed to allow Ireland to adhere to future international conventions if it emerges that an internationally accepted regime is adopted for the disposal of offshore installations. However, I do not foresee such dumping in our maritime area. The ban may only be removed by way of a Government order which will provide the opportunity to revisit the whole issue in the light of the outcome of international scientific investigation. I can assure the House that we will relax the ban only on the basis of total satisfaction that an internationally agreed and environmentally safe alternative is available. If it is not available, the ban under section 4 will remain.
The Bill before the House does not envisage the issue of permits in respect of offshore installations, radioactive substances and other toxic, harmful or noxious substances. The disposal at sea of all other substances or material is prohibited, except in accordance with a permit issued by the Minister for the Marine and in full compliance with any restrictions, requirements or conditions laid down by the Minister and detailed in the said permit. The Minister is empowered to revoke a permit issued. At this stage I would like Deputies to gain an appreciation of how seriously the Minister and his officials will approach applications for permits.
Currently all applications for permits under the 1981 Dumping at Sea Act are referred to the Minister's for the Environment, Enterprise and Employment and Transport, Energy and Communications and any other Minister I consider appropriate for their observations. Applications are rigorously assessed by the Department's marine licence vetting committee. The committee is multi-disciplinary, composed of Department of the Marine and Central Fisheries Board officials with expertise in biology, chemistry, oceanography, navigation and engineering disciplines.
Assessment of each application has been based effectively on the criteria governing the issue of a permit as outlined in the First Schedule to the Bill and on the exceptions to the prohibition on dumping as shown in annex 2 to the OSPAR Convention. For the convenience of prospective applicants, this is outlined and is given legislative status in the Second Schedule to the Bill. Briefly, the criteria used include: the characteristics and composition of the substance or material to be dumped; the characteristics of the dumping site and the proposed method of disposal; the extent to which the dumping might interfere with fish and shellfish cultures, shipping, recreation or navigation; the availability of suitable land based alternatives; proper certification of the disposal vessel and crew and the possibility of an impact on the marine environment. In practice dumping does not take place from aircraft.
Where deemed necessary, applicants are requested to undertake analysis or surveys of both the waste and the dump site, at their own expense. If the proposed site is found unsuitable for any reason, alternative sites are investigated. If the waste is found unsuitable for sea disposal, a permit is refused. On the basis of the committee's assessment, its recommendations to the Minister and the views of other Ministers, the Minister decides to grant or refuse a permit. I am happy that the assessment procedure guards against any substance or material likely to have a negative impact on the marine environment being dumped at sea.
The Dumping at Sea Act, 1981, exempts State ships and vessels from its provisions. The Oslo and OSPAR Conventions provide that "nothing in these Conventions shall abridge the sovereign immunity to which certain vessels are entitled under international law". At the June meeting of the OSPAR Commission, the majority of contracting parties, including Ireland, agreed that notwithstanding this sovereign immunity clause, the provisions of the convention should apply to all vessels and aircraft, including those entitled to sovereign immunity. The UK have given a commitment to cease dumping of redundant munitions at sea.
As I mentioned earlier, I strongly believe that the same regulatory provisions should apply to all who want to dump at sea. I have, therefore, removed the exemption provision from the terms of the Bill, thus ruling out any dumping of munitions off the Irish coast.
The Bill empowers the Minister to appoint authorised officers to enforce the provisions of the Bill and makes it an offence to obstruct or interfere with an authorised officer in the course of the officer's performance of functions. Provision has been included to give the Naval Service and the Garda new enforcement powers. It makes provision for the prosecution of offences by the Attorney General and specifies the penalties for such offences. Up to now neither the Naval Service nor the Garda had powers of enforcement. The Navy is in a strong position to detect any unlawful dumping at sea. The Garda are best equipped to detain vessels when they have been escorted by the naval vessel into a harbour. This will relieve Naval Service vessels and allow them to proceed with other duties.
An amendment to the Bill was agreed in the Dáil to make provision to enable the Attorney General to prosecute offences committed under the Dumping at Sea Bill and the Sea Pollution Act, 1991. The purpose of making this provision is because of the international and diplomatic complications that can arise in cases of this kind. Offences under the Dumping at Sea Bill and the Sea Pollution Act, 1991, are not like ordinary offences in our jurisdiction and they may involve relations with other countries. It is important that the Attorney General should conduct the actual prosecution because he sits with the Government and is aware of the diplomatic and international perspectives involved in prosecuting such offences.
Maritime law is a very specialised area of law which is traditionally dealt with by the Attorney General's Office, which is familiar at first hand with the relevant international conventions and legislation. This amendment will enable the Government to make use of this expertise when prosecuting offences under the Dumping at Sea Bill and the Sea Pollution Act, 1991.
The objective of the OSPAR Convention is to protect the marine environment by incorporating principles established in international environmental legislation. One such principle is the principle of "polluter pays" whereby polluters are held liable for damage caused. That is the policy of this Government. In respect of serious offences the Bill before the House provides for unlimited fines of such amount as the court deems appropriate on conviction on indictment, taking into account the cost of remedial action, five years imprisonment or both. I specifically made a decision not to put a limit on fines for serious offences because of the potential cost of rectifying any damage caused to the marine environment. I would hope that the possibility of substantial penalties on conviction will be an effective deterrent to would-be offenders. It is our intention to invoke the full rigours of the law where offenders are not so deterred and the fines to be imposed could run to millions of pounds.
In respect of summary or minor offences the Bill provides for a fine not exceeding £1,500, 12 months imprisonment or both. This is the maximum fine permitted in law for summary offences. As you are aware, the distinction between summary and indictable cases arise from the Constitution. Cases of a minor nature can be taken in the District Court. There was a case in 1937 which established the upper limit for a fine which could be imposed by the District Court — it was £100 at the time and this has been updated over the years. The District Court maximum for summary penalties is deemed at the present time to be a sum not greater than £1,500 and we do not have permission to increase it.
The Bill before the House represents decisive and strong action on the part of the Government in tackling the threat posed by the dumping of toxic and environmentally damaging substances. I have stated from the outset that the protection of our valuable marine resource is one of my key objectives. I am determined to afford it the strongest and fullest protection. The Bill before the House sets new standards for international marine environment management and gives a firm lead to our European partners. I commend the Bill to the House.
