Frances Black (Independent)
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Go raibh maith agat a Chathaoirligh. The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I am sure he is well aware that the freedom flotilla is an international fleet of civilian ships attempting to break the illegal siege and blockade of Gaza by Israel. The flotilla is organised by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and had brought together participants from more than 20 countries, including Ireland.The flotilla is the first humanitarian mission to carry aid sufficient to meaningfully alleviate the food and medical supply shortage and the intensification of the genocide of the Palestinian people by Israel, which has been imposed on Gaza since last October. The flotilla first set sail in April, with more than 5,000 tonnes of aid and around 1,000 medics, lawyers, politicians and human rights observers on board. Unfortunately, the progress of the flotilla has been halted as its flags have been confiscated by the Guinea-Bissau international ships registry under pressure from the Israeli authorities. Lawyers acting for the coalition have advised that this confiscation is without basis, without requisite notice and is in violation of maritime and international humanitarian law, including the San Remo principles, UN Convention of the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS, UN Security Council resolution 27 and 28 and the International Court of Justice orders on interim measures, which the flotilla is meaningfully attempting to execute through its mission. Without its flags, the flotilla is unable to continue its mission to deliver critical humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza to relieve some of the suffering being imposed by and through the illegal Israeli blockade and occupation. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and United Nations Office at Geneva have both called for the immediate release and safe passage of the flotilla, yet the Israeli Government - supported by its allies - flouts its international obligations, preventing the flotilla from reaching Gaza and delivering critical humanitarian aid and support. A request has been made by the coalition - supported by a petition, which includes more than 18,000 signatories - for Ireland to grant permission for one of the humanitarian vessels to use its flag.

Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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Today, we ask the Minister of State to speak specifically on the consideration the Department has given to the request and when a decision can be anticipated. In response to a written question raised by Deputy Cronin regarding the flotilla, the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, set out the general procedures on providing the flags for the vessels. This is information we already know. We do not need the Minister of State to set out again the process of registration, inspection or surveying of vessels in the general sense. We ask him instead to speak specifically about the vessels attached to the freedom flotilla. A number of the vessels are currently harboured in Turkey. We ask that the Minister of State clarify, in his response, whether and how registration, inspection and surveying could be facilitated with this in mind. It is our understanding that section 21 of the Mercantile Marine Act 1955 provides that the Minister may, in his absolute discretion, consent to the registry of a ship under the law of another country, while section 25 provides that if the rules for the measurement of the tonnage and build of ships in another country are similar to the tonnage regulations in Ireland, the Minister may recognise certificates of measurement and build issued by that country. We hope the Minister of State will speak on how these sections of the Act interact in the case of the flotilla specifically. We can be proud of the leadership Ireland has shown to date on Palestine but we need to take swift, material and tangible action to take the steps within our power to bring the blockade, occupation and genocide to an end. That is not just what is required of us morally, but is also our obligations under international and humanitarian law. The flotilla is currently the only party meaningfully acting to execute the orders of the ICJ, the UN Security Council and international maritime and human rights law. By granting permission for the use of our flag, we can take meaningful and tangible steps of our own. I thank the Minister of State.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach and Senators Ruane and Black for their question. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important topic with Members of the House today on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I tried to get myself up to speed on this issue before the Senators' question. I do not know all the ins and outs of the Act in question or what level of information the Senators have already. We will have to supply some material that I suspect the Senators may have received already.

The important point to start with is that no application has been received by the Marine Survey Office of the Department of Transport or the registration or operation of any vessels regarding the freedom flotilla under the Irish flag. I would like to set out some background information on the operation of ships on the Irish flag. The overall framework is set by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. This requires that every state shall effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control in administrative, technical and social matters over ships flying its state flag. In particular, each state shall maintain a register of its ships and assume jurisdiction over its internal law on-board ships flying its flag.In this regard, every state shall ensure the safety of the ship with regard to construction, equipment and seaworthiness, the manning of the ship, labour conditions and the training of its crews. Each state shall therefore survey each ship operating under its flag and at appropriate intervals thereafter to safeguard the ship’s safety and ensure that it is complying with accepted international safety regulations, procedures and practices.

In Ireland, the registration of vessels is regulated under the Mercantile Marine Act 1955 and the Merchant Shipping and Sea Pollution Acts, 1894 to 2022. Nationality requirements apply to prospective registered owners and this currently includes Irish, EU and UK citizens and bodies corporate. Applicants, being the owner of a vessel or their legal representative, must contact a registrar of shipping at their chosen port of registry in relation to satisfying the registration requirements. The application process also requires a tonnage measurement survey, which is carried out by the Department of Transport.

For an existing ship to operate under the Irish flag, it must also be surveyed by the Department to ensure the safety of the vessel and the crew. These technical surveys include a full desktop review of the ship, including its previous operation under other flags and the outcomes of inspections under port state control regimes, to determine the safety status of the ship. The ship will be surveyed for compliance with the relevant international maritime conventions, EU legislation and domestic Irish legislation. The overall process can take several months and depends on the quality of the vessel presented for survey. The survey and assessment also includes an assessment of the crew and their qualifications. The crew must hold certificates of competency that are recognised by Ireland.

The operation of a ship is regulated regarding its use, intended trading areas, as well as matters related to compliance with the procedures of the conventions, including requirements regarding maritime security. This includes setting the security levels on Irish-flagged ships and directing ships in relation to their operations. Ships operating under the Irish flag are subject to compliance with a wider set of Irish legislation than maritime safety alone, including compliance with other applicable Irish civil and criminal law.

Ireland maintains a comprehensive oversight of ships on the Irish flag to ensure that the highest safety standards are maintained, and Ireland is currently among the top performing flag states in the world in respect of vessel safety, as determined by the Paris memorandum of understanding organisation.

In short, no application has been received yet. My understanding is that no decision can be made until a formal application is made. I do not know whether the information I have shared has been in the public domain already, but these are things an applicant will need to be aware of if putting an application forward. Therefore, perhaps in that respect, it is useful; I do not know. I can perhaps give a little more information in the follow-up.

Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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That is extremely important because we are under the impression that an application has been made through Deputy Chambers’s office. We have been in communication with people on the flotilla, including regarding their legal advice, and they have the steering committee there as well. The people on board the flotilla are also under the impression that the requesting application has been made as per what was requested from them to the Department. That is an extremely important piece of information. People on board and people involved in the steering committee feel they are in a position where they are awaiting the response and the decision based on an application. I do not know whether the Minister of State can provide more information on that now. Are there clear steps he can describe now with regard to whether something has been missed? Was the Department of Transport aware that communication had been made and information sought? Has that not been passed on yet to the Department? There is some confusion that we would like clarity on so that we can best inform the human rights activists but also the legal representatives on board the flotilla who feel they made the request to Ireland for the flags.

Frances Black (Independent)
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Will the Minister of State be able to follow up on this? I am aware he is also passionate about this issue. It would be great if he could follow up on this issue and come back to us on it. It would be awful to think the application went in and just nobody has bothered with it. My concern is that nobody has bothered with it. That is worrying.

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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Absolutely, I will follow up on it. My understanding through a conversation less than an hour ago is that no formal application has been received.

I wish to take the opportunity as well to reaffirm the Government’s commitment to the International Criminal Court. I welcome the decision by the chief prosecutor to pursue arrest warrants. We also hold steadfast in our commitment to recognise the Palestinian state and we are currently co-ordinating with our partners on the most appropriate and impactful date in which that will happen.

I also wish to take the opportunity to bring attention to the fact that the EU Commission still needs to respond to the request of former Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, and the Spanish Prime Minister that the EU-Israel association agreement is reviewed in light of the severe, widespread and ongoing human rights concerns in Gaza. We believe in Europe and its institutions but the institutions are, frankly, only as responsive as their leaders. President von der Leyen is doing a disservice to the EU, in my view, by failing to respond and to recognise the human rights clause in the EU-Israel association agreement.