Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 July 2020
140. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the details of the training, capacity building and investment necessary to support the national maritime oil and HNS spill contingency plan; and the timeline for the roll out of same. [14582/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn 2020, my department was provided with a current allocation of €370,000 and capital allocation of €50,000 in respect of pollution response and ship casualty tasks undertaken by the Irish Coast Guard (IRCG).
It is a requirement for Ports and Local Authorities to have trained personnel available to respond to a pollution incident. Specific training is designed for such staff and offered each year by the IRCG covering Tier 1 and Tier 2 Pollution Response. The courses are certificated and are based on the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) model courses on marine pollution preparedness and response. Once the certificates have been valid for three years, individuals are then offered Refresher training.
The IRCG has engaged consultants to develop a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the activation and operation of the Incident Command System (ICS) within the IRCG. The new procedure will feature the standard and internationally recognised framework of the ICS. The establishment and implementation of this formal and structured process for the management of incidents, including oil spill and Hazardous Noxious Substance (HNS), will provide the ability to scale response management in a coordinated, phased and tiered manner in single and multi-agency environments.
New pollution response equipment was purchased in 2018 and 2019 amounting to €750,000. It is anticipated that it will be commissioned in late 2020 or early 2021 and added to the National Pollution Stockpile. It is intended that equipment in the National Pollution Response Equipment Stockpile that reaches its expiry will be replenished as required over the next three years. A new unique identification system will be developed and introduced for the National Pollution Response Equipment Stockpile over the next four years.
