Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar and Minister for Agriculture Food and Marine, Simon Coveney launched a safety initiative for the Irish Fishing Industry in Union Hall today.
The initiative is supported by both Departments and their respective agencies and features the following initiatives (among other plans):
- Provision of vessel and personal locator beacons
- A new enhanced Safety Equipment Grant Aid Scheme operated by BIM for the purchase of Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs), Auto Pilot Alarms and Wireless engine cut-offs
- Revised Fishing vessel Code of practice to be tougher and amended to take account of lessons learnt from recent tragedies
- The establishment of a high level working group on safety in the Irish fishing industry
- A New Marine Notice being drafted on use of lifejackets
Minister Coveney, who has responsibility for the fishing industry, said “This cross-Departmental initiative…is testament to this Government’s commitment to improving safety in our fishing fleet. It is about learning from past tragedies, and saving lives in the future.”
Minister Varadkar, who has responsibility for maritime safety regulation and emergency response, added: “It is appropriate that the launch of this important maritime safety initiative targeted at the fishing sector is taking place here in Union Hall. Those tragic events of January 2012 left a huge impact on the nation as a whole, and reminded the nation of the dangers of the sea. The first ever national maritime safety strategy announced today is about closing any gaps in services, preventing accidents at sea, and through consultation with stakeholders and the general public, striving to reach a situation where we have no fatalities at sea.”
More information on the initiative and grants can be found at http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/.
