Senators will probably be aware that this Bill was passed by Dáil Éireann on 18 February last and was subsequently introduced in Seanad Éireann. Second Stage was not completed on that occasion, however, and the Bill subsequently lapsed as it did not return to the House before the Seanad General Election in August. Senator O'Toole was in possession at the time, which was 1 p.m. on 27 February — I understand there has been discussion on this point. This Bill is important because of the urgent need to provide a statutory basis for the existing radio navigational aids which are currently operated by the Commissioners of Irish Lights. These are essential to ensure the safety of vessels and their passengers and crews at sea.
The need for this Bill arose from a legal challenge to the Commissioners of Irish Lights' powers to proceed with the erection and operation of a Loran C radio navigation system at Loop Head, County Clare. These proceedings culminated in a Supreme Court decision to the effect that the powers given to the commissioners under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 could not be interpreted to cover the proposed Loran C radio mast and, by implication, the existing radio-based aids to marine navigation which are currently provided by the commissioners. Given that all modern navigation systems are based on the transmission and reception of radio waves, it is essential that the lacuna in the commissioners' legal powers in respect of the provision of radio aids is rectified. This is the primary purpose of this Bill, which also makes further necessary provision in relation to the functions of the commissioners. The overall aim of the legislation is to ensure that the activities of the commissioners, which are essential to safe maritime navigation around our shores, are carried out within a secure legislative framework.
I understand that when this Bill was first introduced in this House on 27 February there was general support for its objective of remedying the legislative deficiency uncovered by the courts in relation to the current operation by the commissioners of radio aids in general. There was, however, considerable disquiet that the passing of the legislation as introduced would empower the commissioners to proceed with the Loran C long range navigation project. Before dealing with the Bill, I would like to outline the manner in which I propose to address this particular issue and the concerns previously voiced in this House.
Senators will be aware that Ireland is committed, by way of an international agreement approved by Dáil Éireann on 8 October 1992, to the provision of a Loran C radio mast and ancillary facilities in the west of Ireland as an integral part of a north-west European Loran C system.
Norway, the Netherlands, France, Denmark and Germany are our partners in the agreement, the purpose of which is to ensure the availability of an independent land based civilian system as an alternative to the United States military satellite Global Positioning System. The availability of this complementary land based system was seen to significantly improve the safety of navigation and protection of the marine environment in north-west European waters.
The proposed site at Loop Head, County Clare, was chosen following a detailed site selection study undertaken by the Commissioners of Irish Lights with the assistance of a firm of consulting engineers, the University of Wales and the head of the North West European Loran C Programme Management Office. On 4 November 1994 the commissioners obtained planning permission, on appeal to An Bord Pleanála, to erect the Loran C mast at Loop Head. The planning appeal took the form of a nine day oral hearing held in Ennis and the resultant permission was subject to a number of conditions, some of which were in the interests of public health and safety. The House will be aware the commissioners have been unable to proceed with the project over the last three years due to protracted legal proceedings. In addition to the litigation concerning the commissioners' legal powers, the scope of the powers under which An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission for the development has been challenged and a Supreme Court appeal has been lodged in this regard.
I am aware concerns have been expressed that the Loran C system poses a threat to health and represents a damaging environmental intrusion. I am also aware it may be considered to be already obsolete. The physical appearance and visual impact of the proposed radio mast has been the subject of particular attention in the media. I recently took the opportunity to go and see a Loran C mast at first hand. I visited the nearest mast in the Loran C chain, which is located at Lessay in north-west France and is of the same dimensions as the one proposed for Loop Head. I was anxious to familiarise myself with such an installation prior to addressing public concerns on the issue.
I mentioned earlier that the provision of a Loran C mast in the west of Ireland arises out of a solemn commitment by the Government and endorsed by Dáil Éireann in the context of a formal international agreement. That being said, I fully recognise that there are concerns about this project, particularly in relation to its siting at Loop Head.
I, therefore, wish to inform the House that I will carry out a fundamental review of the project. To that end, I intend to engage in a process of wide-ranging and extensive consultation involving interested parties, with a view to ensuring that all the relevant issues and information on this project are brought to my attention and into the open. I assure the House that this consultative process will allow for all issues to be aired comprehensively, authoritatively and openly. I am also most keen that I remain personally involved.
I intend, as part of the wide ranging consultation I envisage, that expert opinion on radio navigation and maritime safety in general be obtained. The Commissioners of Irish Lights have expertise in this field and I will be seeking their advice concerning current navigational technology. I am also interested in hearing the expert opinion of international authoritative bodies responsible for worldwide navigation, such as the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities and the International Maritime Organisation. The advice of the EU Commission will also be solicited. These consultations will attempt to elicit the international view on current needs in the maritime safety area, medium to long-term developments and requirements in the area of radio based navigational aids and, especially in that context, the case for a land based complement to support a spacebased system. The views and concerns of the people of the Kilbaha area in Loop Head, and people in general concerned with such installations, will be given no less a hearing. The local people are, after all, those most affected by the proposed Loran C development. To facilitate them in voicing their views, I propose to visit the area and meet with the local people and public representatives.
I also wish to inform the House that I have directed that no further work on the Loran C project should occur pending the consultations I have outlined. To put this direction on a firm legislative footing I have decided to table a significant amendment on Committee Stage. The terms of the proposed amendment require that the powers conferred on the commissioners under section 3 — to develop and operate radio and navigation systems — cannot be activated in respect of the Loran C system unless an appropriate order is made by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources. Most importantly, the proposed amendment also provides that any draft ministerial order made in this regard must be approved by each House of the Oireachtas. This will ensure that, in effect, the project will not proceed unless further legislation is adopted by the Dáil and the Seanad. Thus, Deputies and Senators will have an opportunity to debate and decide on any proposal which the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources might bring forward in the future to empower the commissioners to proceed with the Loran C project.
The amendment is designed to facilitate the Bill's passage into law as early as possible in order to legally authorise the Commissioners of Irish Lights to operate and maintain existing radio navigation aids. It will also provide reassurance to all those wishing to be involved in the consultation process and allow them to contribute fully in the knowledge that the Loran C project cannot progress without the approval of both the Dáil and the Seanad.
When the Bill was first introduced in this House certain Senators expressed the intention of tabling an amendment the effect of which would be to remove definitively from the new powers of the commissioners legislative authority to erect a Loran C mast. The Attorney General's Office has since advised that to purport to exclude the Loran C system from the scope of the powers conferred on the commissioners to develop and operate radio and navigation systems could be interpreted to be at variance with our obligations under the International Agreement on Loran C which Ireland entered into in good faith. Furthermore, the Department of Foreign Affairs has advised that a legislative amendment along these lines could damage our international standing.
I trust the House will appreciate that I could not accept a legislative proposal which could be detrimental to our international reputation and have other potentially serious consequences. That being said, I reiterate that the mechanism I intend to adopt in my proposed amendment will have the effect of ensuring that this House and Dáil Éireann will determine finally how the Loran C project is to be dealt with having regard to international obligations.
I understand that when the Bill was last before the House Senators raised important questions on Article 18 of the International Agreement, which deals with denunciation. It would be useful to clarify the position in this regard. Article 18 provides that after the expiry of ten years from the date of entry into force of the agreement, any party may denounce the agreement within the first six months of the eleventh year. It further provides that such denunciation shall take effect at the end of the following year.
While the agreement was signed on 6 August 1992, I am advised that it did not actually enter into force until 2 April 1994, following ratification by the last State party, the Netherlands. This means it would not be possible for any party to denounce the agreement until April 2004 and this would not have effect until the end of 2005. Both the Attorney General's Office and the Department of Foreign Affairs have advised that withdrawal from the agreement before that date could only realistically be effected with the consent of our partners in the agreement. This would obviously be a very serious step which would involve protracted negotiations.
In conclusion, the combination of my proposed amendment to the Bill and the consultation process in relation to Loran C will have a twofold effect. First, it will enable the hiatus in the commissioners' legal framework to be speedily addressed. This is important to people at sea. Second, it will ensure that no action can or will be taken in relation to the Loran C project pending comprehensive consultations on all the issues involved and that informed decisions can be taken on foot of these consultations by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources and, ultimately, by each House of the Oireachtas as to the future of the project. This approach, which involves any future amendment coming before both Houses of the Oireachtas for debate, will meet the concerns of all interests to the greatest possible extent.
I will deal with the main provisions in the Bill but before doing so, I wish to outline the statutory background of the Commissioners of Irish Lights and elaborate on their current legal position. The activities of the commissioners have their legal origin in an Act passed by the Irish Parliament in 1786 and their current constitution is effectively the same as provided for in that Act. The Commissioners of Irish Lights started out as a "corporation for preserving and improving Dublin Port" and did not acquire their present title until 1867 when the Dublin Port Act established them as a separate entity from the Dublin Port and Docks Board. The Irish Lights Commissioners (Adaptation) Order, 1935, legitimised the functions of the commissioners in the Irish State.
The source of the current powers of the commissioners is the 1894 Merchant Shipping Act. This Act vests the superintendence and management of all lighthouses, buoys and beacons in Britain and Ireland in three general lighthouse authorities. The Commissioners of Irish Lights is the general lighthouse authority responsible for providing and maintaining aids to navigation throughout Ireland and its adjacent seas and islands. The fact that their remit covers the 32 counties of Ireland makes the commissioners a unique body. Trinity House is the lighthouse authority responsible for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar, and the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses serve Scotland and the Isle of Man. The special nature of the commissioners as a statutory body carrying out its essential functions on an all Ireland basis render it particularly important that we work to ensure that it has an appropriate and modern legislative base for its operations.
The 1894 Act empowers the Commissioners of Irish Lights to erect or place any lighthouse, buoy or beacon and allows them to purchase any land which may be necessary for the exercise of their powers. It also vests in the commissioners the overall control of local lighthouses, buoys or beacons provided by individual harbour authorities. Under the Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Wreck) Act, 1993, the commissioners also have powers in relation to the marking and removal of wrecks which are a danger to navigation.
The courts have taken a particular view of the commissioners' powers under the 1894 Merchant Shipping Act. In October 1995 the High Court held that these powers must be defined by reference to precise equipment, that is, lighthouses, buoys and beacons and not by reference to navigational aids in general terms. The court ruled that the definitions of "lighthouse" and "beacons" in the 1894 Act could not be interpreted to include aids to navigation designed to facilitate the transmission of electro-magnetic waves or pulses as such aids were unknown at that time. The subsequent Supreme Court majority judgment delivered in July 1996 held that the proposed Loran C mast is not a beacon within the meaning of the 1894 Act by virtue of two factors: first, because of its extremely long range, and, second, because it provides aid to navigation based on the transmission and reception of radio signals rather than by visual or aural means.
The decision by the courts to effectively restrict the scope of the legislative power in relation to beacons to what was comprehended in 1894 casts serious doubts on the vires of even the most basic radio navigation aids operated by the commissioners. The Attorney General's Office, therefore, advised that there was a need for this Bill to modernise the commissioners' powers to ensure that they can continue to provide valuable radio aids in the interest of maritime safety.
Senators may be aware that the commissioners have voiced considerable and justified concern about the position in which they have found themselves. They have indicated that their legal advice suggests that each commissioner is potentially liable for any claims or expenses arising out of the current operation of radio aids to navigation. This advice placed the commissioners in a serious predicament, so much so that their chairman indicated that they had no option but to terminate the provision of such aids unless the required legislation was passed. The commissioners subsequently agreed, however, not to proceed with this course of action on the understanding that the necessary legislation would be introduced as quickly as possible.
It is important not to underestimate the role of the Commissioners of Irish Lights. They are charged under the law with responsibility to take specific measures aimed at accident prevention, pollution avoidance and, most significantly, the safety of life at sea. The commissioners have statutory responsibility for protecting the safety of mariners in the often hazardous waters around our extensive coastline. Ireland's geographic position at the hub of transatlantic shipping means that aids to navigation provided by the commissioners are not only used by vessels plying to and from Irish ports but also a significant volume of passing traffic.
The nature and quality of aids to navigation are improving in line with rapid advances in technology — hence the need for the legislative changes before the House today. The traditional visual aids, such as lighthouses and buoys, which remain an important part of the marine safety infrastructure, are being modernised. All lighthouses are now automated and all buoys have been converted to solar power. In the modern world of shipping, in which vessels travel faster, traffic is denser and the risk of accidents and pollution is consequently greater, there is a need for enhanced position-fixing accuracy for all types of vessels. Modern radio navigation systems fulfil this requirement.
The Commissioners of Irish Lights have always endeavoured to keep abreast of navigational technology and have provided radio based aids to navigation from as far back as 1931. At present they operate such aids at locations around the coast of Ireland. These modern electronic aids enable vessels to determine their position by interpreting radio signals from shore based transmitters. The four types of radio navigation systems provided by the commissioners are radio beacons, radar beacons, which are known as racons, radar target enhancers and the Differential Global Positioning System known as DGPS. However, as I have already explained, the courts have effectively ruled that these systems are ultra vires the powers given to the commissioners under the 1894 Merchant Shipping Act. The UK amended that Act in 1979 to provide a legislative basis for the inclusion of radio aids to navigation in the powers of general lighthouse authorities in their jurisdiction. As I mentioned earlier, I am sure Senators will agree it is incumbent upon us to ensure that a North-South, all-Ireland body such as the Commissioners of Irish Lights, is as equipped with an appropriate legislative framework to carry out its vital role in the Republic of Ireland as it is in Northern Ireland.
Before outlining the main provisions in the Bill I would like to deal with a technical point in relation to one of the definitions in the legislation. The Minister referred to in the Bill is defined therein as the Minister for the Marine rather than the current title of the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources. This is due to the fact that the title of the Minister has been changed by Government order since the Bill was published following its passage through the Dáil. The parliamentary draftsman has advised that it is, therefore, necessary to table a minor technical amendment in this regard and I propose to do so on Committee Stage. I mention this matter mainly by way of clarification because, in dealing now with the main provisions in the Bill, I propose, in order to avoid any confusion, to refer to the current title of Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources rather than the Minister for the Marine.
First and foremost, the Bill addresses the legal deficiencies highlighted by the courts by conferring on the commissioners, in relation to maritime navigation, powers to erect, operate and maintain radio navigation systems. It also enables them to purchase land necessary to exercise these powers. The commissioners provided radio navigation systems in the past in the interests of maritime safety and the Bill seeks to validate such provision. Due provision has also been made to ensure that the constitutional rights of any person are not affected by the powers conferred on the commissioners in relation to radio aids to navigation.
As I indicated earlier, the 1894 Merchant Shipping Act vested the superintendence and management of all lighthouses, buoys and beacons, including those provided by harbour authorities, in the commissioners. The primary purpose of the Bill is to extend this power to embrace the superintendence and management of all maritime radio navigation systems, thus putting the commissioners' powers in relation to these aids on a secure footing throughout the island of Ireland.
The Bill also provides that the commissioners may, with the consent of the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, co-operate with other agencies, including a competent authority of another jurisdiction or an international organisation, in relation to the provision or operation of radio navigation systems and any services relating to maritime navigation, safety, distress, wreck location, pollution or related matters.
International co-operation is of great importance in the provision of aids to navigation and in relation to maritime navigation generally. This provision ensures that there is a legal basis for such co-operation on the part of the Commissioners of Irish Lights. The commissioners are represented on the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities, and this organisation promotes co-operation between lighthouse authorities and the co-ordination of worldwide standards on aids to navigation matters. At a more local level, the commissioners, as one of the three general authorities for Britain and Ireland, co-operate closely with Trinity House and the commissioners of Northern Lighthouses, which between them serve England, Scotland and Wales. This provision also permits the commissioners to co-operate with other bodies in relation to the provision of services relating to wreck, pollution or related matters. The need for such co-operation arises particularly in emergencies and, where necessary, the commissioners light tender ship can provide assistance to the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources or other competent authorities. In the past, the Irish Lights vessel has aided the Department in search and rescue work.
Another provision in the Bill empowers the commissioners to make financial contributions towards the funding of international organisations or bodies concerned with maritime navigational assistance. The exercise of this power requires the consent of both the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources and the Minister for Finance. The Commissioners of Irish Lights currently make financial contributions to the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities in respect of their membership of that body and the Bill seeks to place these payments on a solid legislative footing.
The Bill also contains a provision which allows the commissioners, for gain or otherwise, to enter into agreements and contracts with the permission of the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, for the provision of maritime navigation systems and the performance of services relating to maritime navigation, safety, distress, wreck location, pollution and related matters on behalf of harbour authorities and other third parties. The requirement for this provision stems from legal advice received by the former UK Department of Transport to the effect that the maintenance of a third party's buoys is ultra vires the powers of Trinity House, the general lighthouse authority throughout England and Wales. This advice also applies to the Commissioners of Irish Lights with regard to the provision of such services to third parties such as harbour authorities. A number of lights and buoys within harbour limits are currently maintained by the commissioners. The Bill validates services provided by the commissioners to harbour authorities to date and extends the scope for the commissioners in relation to contracting services to third parties. The UK has already taken legislative action in this regard. The Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act, which was introduced earlier this year, contains a similar provision which permits general lighthouse authorities in the UK to enter into contracts with third parties.
On the same general theme, it is considered prudent to cater for future developments in technology and practices. Accordingly, the Bill also incorporates a provision enabling the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources to confer on the commissioners appropriate additional functions in relation to maritime navigational matters. Any order made in this regard must be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and can be annulled by a resolution of either House.
On the basis that this legislation is vital to enable the Commissioners of Irish Lights to continue to provide modern navigational aids for the safety of mariners, and having regard to the firm commitments which I have given on the Loran C project I commend this Bill to the House.