Safety regulations for sea angling vessels have been brought forward by the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Ahern, as part of a review initiated last month.
All passenger boats, including sea angling craft, will have to comply with regulations from January 1st, six months earlier than planned.
The Irish Federation of Sea Anglers (IFSA) says it welcomes any moves to improve safety, but believes the Minister should engage in consultation with the sector.
The Minister's decision comes six weeks after the loss of five lives off Co Wexford when an angling vessel, the Pisces, sank.
Three of the five who died were from one family. Five people, including the vessel's skipper, survived the incident, which is now the subject of an investigation by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board.
The Irish Coast Guard said that none of the 10 on board the vessel was wearing lifejackets.
Sea angling vessels had been granted a two-year exemption from passenger boat regulations by the former marine minister, Mr Frank Fahey, but his successor has decided to cut this exemption by six months.
From January, every boat carrying passengers for reward must have a licence and must comply with statutory requirements laid down in the legislation.
"Any person found operating illegally after this date will be subject to the full rigours of the law," the Minister said yesterday.
"The overall result will be a safer regime where the public have a right and expectation to know that the boat they are on complies with safety standards."
To qualify for such a licence, each boat must be inspected by a marine surveyor to ensure that it satisfies the requirements laid down in the legislation with regard to safety and equipment. These regulations already apply to passenger ferries.
Last year two ferry operators from Clare Island were fined £100 each and a further £140 in witness expenses for failing to have adequate crew numbers as part of the regulations.
The Minister said he was also organising a series of information seminars to promote safety awareness, and to publicise the requirements for boat-owners and operators.
These will begin in October, and interested parties will be notified and invited to attend at various venues, he said. Experts from the new Maritime Safety Directorate will be on hand to answer any technical and general queries, he said.
Mr Brian Prendergast, chairman of the Irish Federation of Sea Anglers, said his organisation welcomed any moves to improve safety, and his members already complied with their own guidelines, including wearing of work jackets which self-inflate.
Mr Prendergast said that several sea angling festivals may have to be cancelled next year, because of the cost of applying such regulations in isolated areas where there was a shortage of dedicated sea angling craft.
Half-deckers hired for these events were fully equipped under commercial fishing regulations, but this was not being taken into account by the Minister, Mr Prendergast said.
