The Government's decision to sanction the employment of a spotter plane and two emergency towing vessels for dedicated pollution protection around our coasts is to be welcomed, even if the manner of its implementation may yet cause some concern. The cost of the initiative has been estimated at £10m during the next two years, with the bulk of the money being expended along the west coast.
At this stage, it would seem as if the Minister for the Marine, Mr Fahey, favours a system whereby the tugs and the spotter plane would be leased on contract by the Irish Coast Guard, rather than provided through the Naval Service and the Air Corps. But proposals from the Department of Defence for the purchase of similar-style vessels are still being considered. A final decision is not expected until October.
A number of reports in recent years have urged Government action to safeguard our extensive coastline against pollution arising from marine accidents and from such deliberate acts of vandalism as the flushing of oil tanks at sea. Some months ago, it was proposed that counties Donegal, Mayo and Galway should be designated as "high risk" marine environment areas and that an emergency towing vessel should be based in the region. An official report warned that all coastal activities would have to be suspended if a shipwreck and oil spill, just a sixth of the size of the Amoco Cadiz disaster, occurred there.
Following the grounding and sinking of the Amoco Cadiz off Brittany in 1978, when 221,000 tonnes of crude oil escaped into the sea, the French government introduced emergency towing vessels which are publicly funded and are available at 40 minutes notice. The British Government has since followed suit. And this Government decision will bring Ireland into line with best European practice.
Concern over control of the new facilities is believed to have given rise to some inter-agency friction. If the facilities are leased from the private sector by the Irish Coast Guard, based within the Department of the Marine, its critics say there may be a loss of continuity and contracts could be allowed to lapse in the event of an economic downturn. That would lead to a loss of expertise, which would not occur if the services were operated by the Navy and the Air Corps.
Arguing for more resources, a recent Naval Service submission to the Government estimated that drug smugglers were twenty times less likely to be apprehended in supplying the lucrative EU market through the Irish marine corridor, than through Belgian, British or French ports.
Whatever about the nature of the controlling agency, it would seem to make sense to have the aircraft and the emergency towing vessels function not just in relation to pollution control but also in regard to fishery protection and anti-drug smuggling activities, in order to make the initiative more comprehensive and cost effective.