Seán Canney
Galway East · Independent · Ireland
“To obtain an operational authorisation, an operator must provide a comprehensive safety portfolio, which includes assessing and addressing both ground and air risks with appropriate mitigations. Manna Air Delivery holds such an authorisation from the IAA.”
“The national policy framework for UAS, agreed by the Government, was published by the Minister in August last year. The policy framework aims to guide high-level strategic planning and development in the drone sector in Ireland through support, growth and innovation, while ensuring safe and secure operations.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. I note Manna Air Delivery's recent statement that it will for now cease deliveries by drone in Ireland.”
“It proposes 16 actions under three main areas: the use of airspace and planning; compliance and enforcement; and enterprise and innovation. Actions in the policy framework include the establishment of a national working group on UAS geographical zones to develop transparent processes and procedures for the designation of these zones; the…”
“This new route provides passengers travelling from Charleville to Cork with a morning service at 7.05 a.m. and a service from Cork to Charleville at 5.45 p.m., Monday to Friday. This new route is part of the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan, a major public transport initiative.”
“I thank the Deputy. I reassure him again that the Department, its Minister, Deputy O’Brien, my fellow Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, and I are fully committed to delivering a more sustainable, inclusive and accessible transport system for the benefit of current and future generations.”
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“Specifically, budget 2025 included a measure to extend free child fares on PSO services to children aged five to eight years old. The NTA is working to develop and implement this change, with the new scheme expected to launch in quarter 3 of this year. This targeted initiative is designed to help with the cost of living for families and to encourage children to start using public transport from an early age. The Government is also continuing funding supports to allow for the continuation of other fare initiatives, such as the 90-minute fare, the young adult and student Leap card, and 20% discounted fares on PSO services, all of which help make public transport more affordable. Furthermore, the NTA recently introduced a new distance-based zonal fare structure for the greater Dublin area.”
“I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 8 together. The National Transport Authority has statutory responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services provided under public service obligation, PSO, contracts. Obviously this statutory responsibility supports the implementation of agreed Government priorities. I assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to delivering an accessible, reliable and affordable public transport system for all our citizens, including children. Under the programme for Government, our commitments include the roll-out of contactless payments, keeping fares affordable and examining the further expansion of free public transport for children.”
“Absolutely. In general terms, a huge amount of work has been done in the area of public transport, be it BusConnects, Local Link or the train network right across the country. We have a huge amount yet to do. We have to make it more efficient and more attractive. In particular, we have to give young people the experience they need so when they are going out into the workforce, their first project will not be to buy a car but to use public transport, which they have had a good experience of. I look forward in my ministerial role, with my two ministerial colleagues, to continuing to develop the system, removing the parts of the public transport system that are not working and replacing them with a more efficient system for everybody.”
“I understand the Deputy’s frustration in terms of lines having to be taken out of service but that is a health and safety issue for passengers. Maintenance has to be done. I can guarantee the Deputy that no matter what day of the week or hour of the day it is done, it will not suit everybody. It is a reality in public transport.”
“For example, to take the rail line from Athenry to Galway as a typical example, we are putting in a passing loop to make sure we can get additional trains in and out and make the service more frequent. We are trying to do that across the country and there is huge investment happening in Dublin. Improvements are happening all of the time. Public transport is a good news story.”
“On the last point regarding the increases in some areas, there have also been massive decreases in other areas because the new ticketing and fare system for Dublin has created a fairer way of dealing with this. To go back to the affordability of public transport, it is important to state there have been many fare changes in recent years. For example, the Government is expanding free child fares and maintaining the young adult student leap card at 50% off, and there is also a 90-minute fare. These are initiatives to try to incentivise people to use public transport, which is happening. However, we also have to ensure that the frequency is put in place.”
“On reliability, we have major infrastructure projects under BusConnects for each of the five cities, as well as introducing improvements to the vehicle location system and real-time passenger information, all of which will improve the reliability of the system. We need to see construction start on those BusConnects corridors in Dublin and roll that out to the other cities too. Of course, I acknowledge that the affordability of public transport is also important, particularly for certain cohorts of society.”
“The main drivers are fundamentally around issues such as the availability, frequency and reliability of transport, as discussed earlier. I am pleased to say that progress is being made on each of those issues but, equally, I acknowledge that while the work is well under way, much remains to be done. On availability, we are rolling out new services across the country under initiatives such as BusConnects in the cities, the town services in the bigger towns and Connecting Ireland in rural Ireland. We need to continue this progress in the years ahead. In terms of frequency, we are supporting the rollout of increased service levels on existing services and ensuring enhanced frequency on new services as they are rolled out. Again, we need to build on this progress in the years ahead.”
“The Deputy is no doubt aware of the considerable amount of research, both domestically and internationally, on what drives increased passenger numbers on public transport. I am happy to report there has been strong growth in passenger numbers in recent years, with numbers trending at plus 9% in 2024 versus 2023. In October 2024, public transport surpassed 1 million PSO passengers a day for the first time ever, with an average of 1 million passenger journeys recorded daily. This growth continues in 2025, with a recent 9% increase in passenger numbers in the last period compared to the same period last year. The Deputy is right to highlight the importance of ensuring more people are incentivised to make the switch to public transport and also the challenge we face in meeting our transport-related emissions targets.”
“That is my aim and ambition and I want to get that done as quickly as possible. I will work with the RSA to make sure we deliver that.”
“The service is not right and it needs to be rectified. I thank the Deputy for expressing the frustration in Kerry the way he has expressed it. It is felt throughout the country, sadly, and I will work to make sure we get this matter rectified in conjunction with the RSA. At the end of the day, we want to make sure we have a service that will deliver tests within ten weeks. It is very important and the money has been allocated for these new testers to be trained up. The issue is that they have to be trained and brought out to conduct the testing. I am looking at a variety of options to try to speed up that process in order that we have as many people as possible out testing and that in no place in the country will people be waiting for more than ten weeks for a test.”
“I recognise and feel the Deputy's frustration because I know and feel it myself in my own constituency. People contact me to say their test has been postponed up to five or six times. They are young people, healthcare workers, the whole shooting match. I assure the Deputy that I am treating this as an emergency. I met RSA representatives last week and asked them to come back to me next week with firm proposals on what will happen. I will work with them very closely to make sure there are improvements. We have to maintain the integrity of the driving test and make sure everybody is safe on the road. I hear the Deputy's suggestion of giving an amnesty, but under current regulations and rules, that may not be feasible. I assure the Deputy all options are being considered to help to address the backlog that exists. It is not right.”
“This reform will be carried out on a phased and planned basis. A departmental group led by the Department of Transport and comprising relevant stakeholders is tasked with developing a comprehensive implementation plan, including required legislation, to ensure the reform delivers road safety benefits and an improved customer experience. I assure the Deputy that I am engaging with the RSA on an ongoing basis on proposals to reduce wait times to ten weeks.”
“The Deputy may be aware that driver testing is offered on Saturdays where driver testers are available to do overtime and there are also additional morning and evening test slots offered where daylight allows. This has been the case since the current backlog in driving tests started to build up. To further assist with reducing waiting times, in October 2023, a change was made to the system to allow any unused slots to be made available for anyone to take up at short notice. If a driving test is cancelled at short notice, the RSA makes this appointment available to candidates on the MyRoadSafety portal. While new testers will bring additional capacity in the short term, in the longer term it is intended that the RSA will be reformed consequent to a Government decision of November 2024.”
“When this plan was first put forward by the RSA, it envisaged a return to the target by November 2025. This is not acceptable given the level of delays already being suffered by learner drivers. I met RSA representatives last week to discuss this issue and instructed the authority to return in two weeks with sustainable proposals which will provide a faster resumption to the service level agreement of ten weeks. The recruitment process for additional testers is well under way, with the first tranche of new testers now being deployed into service. These testers are being assigned to test centres nationwide as the candidates complete their training. As additional testers enter the system, testing capacity will increase and progress should be made on reducing the numbers.”
“This increase in demand for driving tests and the time to invitation for learner drivers has a number of contributing factors. These include an increase in learner permits in circulation, increased capacity in the driver theory test and an increase in advanced driving instructors' capacity to deliver lessons to learner drivers. My Department has sought to support the RSA in meeting rising demand through a number of staffing sanctions in recent years. Most recently, in September 2024, the Department sanctioned an additional 70 permanent positions for driver testers. This increases the total permanent sanction for testers to 200, which represents a doubling of testers since June 2022. As a condition of sanction, the RSA was required to put a plan in place to restore the ten-week waiting time target as soon as possible.”
“I am glad the Deputy raised this question because it is a problem throughout the country. I understand his frustration. I will first provide an outline. The Road Safety Authority Act 2006 gave statutory responsibility for the national driver test service to the RSA. At the end of April, the average estimated time for invitation to test for a candidate was 25 weeks. I am told the waiting time for invitation to test in Kerry is 23.5 weeks, so what the Deputy said was the truth. This is far above the acceptable service-level agreement target of ten weeks. Measures are being taken to address this issue. As the population has grown in recent years, the demand on driver testing services has similarly increased. In 2024, the busiest year in the history of the service, more than 250,000 driving tests were conducted, up from over 196,000 in 2023.”
“The current status of the project is to provide for the bus priority measures, active travel, junction safety and strategic network resilience on the N11-M11 between junctions 4 and 14. This major scheme is at the options selection phase - preferred route open selection. It is important that we look at this in the context that it is being delivered by TII in conjunction with Wicklow County Council. Wicklow County Council considered all submissions received when assessing the various options.”
“A benefit of doing this project will be to improve the congestion issues faced by road users by increasing capacity on the existing route and identifying opportunities for bus priority measures. This will allow for more reliable and safer journeys for commuters and vulnerable road users. It aims to reduce the frequency and severity of collisions along this route. The proposed project will improve connectivity between Dublin Port and Rosslare Europort, allowing efficient and greater access to international markets from Ireland. In addition, the project may include the provision of improved active transport facilities and opportunities for greater interface with public transport along the N11, which will have positive environmental effects. There are benefits to this project.”
“To develop an efficient, reliable and effective bus system, the strategy emphasises the need for the core bus network to be developed to achieve: continuous priority for bus movement on the portions of the core bus network; enhanced bus lane provisions on these corridors; and removal of current delays on the bus network, enabling the bus to provide a faster alternative to car traffic along these routes.”
“A significant upgrade of junction 7 is proposed that will address the traffic reassignment arising from the impact of closing Herbert Road, which is required to provide bus priority in the hard shoulder between junctions 6 and 7. This is also intended to improve road safety for all users on the N11 and M11. Wicklow County Council has commenced design and environmental evaluation. The option selection report includes the full rationale and detailed assessment carried out in determining the preferred option. The report was published on the project website in April and is now available to view. It is important to highlight the N11 and M11 route is identified within the NTA’s transport strategy for the greater Dublin area, GDA, 2022 to 2042 strategy, as a regional core bus corridor as part of the core bus network.”
“The aim is to provide bus priority measures on the N11 and M11, enabling buses and coaches to avoid congested traffic lanes and reduce the unsustainable dependency on the private car in the short to medium term. The project was allocated €1.45 million for this year to enable it to progress. Wicklow County Council is now working on closing out the preferred option for the combined scheme. The public consultation for the emerging preferred option was held from 12 September to 6 November 2023. I understand from TII that all submissions were considered and detailed traffic modelling was conducted to inform the preferred option.”
“This funding will enable improved regional accessibility across the country, as well as compact growth, which are key national strategic outcomes. The funding will provide for the development of numerous national road projects, including the completion of projects which are already in construction stage and those close to it, as well as the development of several other projects. As the greater portion of this funding becomes available in the second half of the decade, there is a constraint on the funding available for new projects in 2025. Approximately €502 million in Exchequer capital funds, however, has been provided for national roads through TII to local authorities in 2025. With regard to the N11 bus priority interim scheme, this important project commenced in October 2021 following the completion of an initial feasibility study.”
“My apologies, I was not here at the very start. I thank Deputy Brady for raising this matter. The Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding regarding the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015, and in line with the national development plan, the operation and management of individual national roads is a matter for TII in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. TII ultimately delivers the national roads programme in line with Project Ireland 2040, the national planning framework and the NDP. The Government has earmarked €5.1 billion for capital spending on new national roads projects from 2021 to 2030 as part of the NDP.”
“Fare caps will be revised, reducing the maximum daily, weekly and monthly expenditure for passengers in the Dublin city zone from €8 to €6 for adults. The Department is liaising closely with the NTA and Irish Rail on the matter and will continue to monitor phase 2. I will bring to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, the Deputy's request for a meeting to deal with this. It is important to return to the initial issue: there is no increase overall in the level of charges across services. The Deputy has said there are some anomalies in the service, which we will continue to monitor.”
“Let me bring some balance to this. Single fares for some routes will be reduced significantly. Drogheda to Dublin Connolly will drop from €11.95 to €6, which is a 50% reduction. Conversely, some fares will increase, most notably in Greystones, Sallins and Naas, and Skerries, which fall outside the city zone. Within the Dublin city zone - the 25 km radius from the city centre - the fares determination will see a single monthly Leap fee of €96 and an annual fee of €960. This includes travel across all Dublin city bus, Luas and Irish Rail services within the Dublin city zone, representing a reduction of approximately 17%. The annual tickets on Dublin city bus and rail services will see a 9% fare reduction. The 90-minute fare level will be retained at €2.”
“The second phase of the previously announced fare determinations was implemented on Monday, 28 April, introducing new multimodal fare caps in Dublin and revised commuter rail services, with revised commuter fares to come into effect in mid-May. The implementation saw the roll-out of the new Dublin city fare zone and three new Dublin commuter fare zones. Communications campaigns in the form of posters at train stations, etc., commenced on Monday, 24 April. I will refer to this further in my next contribution.”
“In this context, in April 2023 the NTA published a new national fare strategy. The fare strategy follows the implementation of the simplified fare structure in Dublin. This strategy aims to create a more equitable, consistent and easy-to-understand fare system based on distance travelled. In January 2024, the NTA published fare determinations covering the Dublin city zone, which extends 25 km from the city centre to Rush, Ratoath, Blanchardstown and Bray, and the Dublin commuter zone, which extends 50 kilometres, from the city centre, to Drogheda, Kildare, Rathdrum, etc. Phase 1 was implemented in June 2024 and focused on fares for shorter journeys within Dublin. Phase 2, initially scheduled for September 2024, was delayed due to technical issues with the rail ticketing system.”
“To support this objective, in budget 2025 the Department of Transport secured €658.442 million in public funding for public service obligations and TFI Local Link services. That is an increase from €613 million in 2024. This funding also supports continuation after a 20% fare reduction in PSO services, the young adult card for both PSO and commercial bus services and the 90-minute fare until the end of 2025. Funding is also being secured to extend free child fares on PSO services to include those between ages five and eight and to support the roll-out of new enhanced bus and rail services under programmes such as BusConnects and Connecting Ireland. The NTA has strategy responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect to public transport services provided under the PSO contracts.”
“I thank the Deputy for his very precise request and for raising this topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy O’Brien. The Minister has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. However, neither he nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally rests with the NTA. The NTA works with the public transport operators that deliver the services and has responsibility for day-to-day operational matters. That said, I reassure the Deputy that the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable and realistic sustainable mobility options, and public transport plays key role of the delivery of this goal.”
“The 90 battery-operated carriages that comprise the second order will be built for the greater Dublin area, with route deployment to be determined. Upon the completion of each element of DART+, capacity for additional trains will be provided. Railway orders have been received for DART+ West and DART+ South West to Hazelhatch, and physical works are expected to commence in 2026. Again, I thank the Deputy for raising this very important subject. I will relay his suggestions to the NTA.”
“Iarnród Éireann has begun to take delivery of the first order of new trains under the DART+ programme. Regarding the utilisation of the new DART+ fleet, 185 carriages are currently on order. The first order, of 95, will see 65 battery-electric carriages operating on the Drogheda commuter line. Charging facilities are being built at Drogheda. Thirty electric-only carriages will add to capacity on the existing DART network. The battery-electric carriages will begin to enter service in 2026 and will allow a cascade of commuter and intercity trains from the Drogheda line to other lines. The commuter trains would cascade to the Maynooth, M3 Parkway, Phoenix Park Tunnel and Heuston commuter services, allowing full-size trains on all services and replacing shorter and lower-capacity intercity trains operating on the route.”
“The Deputy makes a strong case. I am listening. I assure him that the Minister for Transport recognises that transport connectivity is hugely important for people who live and work in Ireland and that expanding the public transport network and increasing service levels throughout the country will lead to more balanced regional development and greater connectivity. The Deputy spoke about Lucan and places like Adamstown. It is important that we provide a good service. Where the service is not good enough, we need to make it the best we can. We need to work on that. Two initial orders for 185 electric and battery-electric carriages for the DART+ fleet were placed, with 95 carriages ordered in December 2021 and a further 90 ordered in December 2022. A total of 750 carriages will be ordered in the coming decade. That is a statement of intent.”
“There are some occasions when intercity trains stop at additional stations such as Newbridge or Sallins where a commuter connection is otherwise unavailable. Stopping intercity services at Adamstown, Kishoge or other commuter stations would increase journey times by five minutes per stop on intercity services. Additionally, these increased stops would take up additional track capacity, reducing the overall number of trains which can operate. I reassure the Deputy that the Department of Transport, the NTA and Iarnród Éireann are working to ensure the optimised deployment of resources across the public transport network match passenger demand. The points the Deputy makes need to be considered, however, and I will bring them back to the NTA.”
“The commuter trains on this line stop at all commuter stops, enabled by the four-track section, without the intercity and commuter services slowing down as well. Iarnród Éireann provides an interchange between commuter and intercity services for customers travelling to and from commuter stations such as Adamstown and Kishoge. This typically happens at the following stations: Kildare, for connections to and from Waterford; Portarlington, for connections to and from Galway and Westport; and Portlaoise, for connections to and from Cork, Kerry and Limerick. Such models of interchange are typical on rail systems internationally to facilitate the balance between demand for competitive intercity journey times and the provision of connections for a broad range of journeys.”
“This includes the Government’s commitment to funding for initiatives, such as the DART+ programme, the new DART+ fleet, the proposed replacement of the current Enterprise fleet and the introduction of 41 new intercity railcars. Adamstown and Kishoge stations, located in west Dublin, are served by a number of Iarnród Éireann services on the lines to Heuston. Adamstown Station is served by the Dublin Heuston to Cork, Grand Canal Dock and Dublin Heuston to Portlaoise, Dublin Heuston to Newbridge and Grand Canal Dock to Hazelhatch services. Kishoge Station is served by the Dublin Heuston to Cork, Dublin Heuston to Waterford and the Grand Canal Dock and Dublin Heuston to Portlaoise services. The line between Hazelhatch to Park West is a four-track section, which allows intercity trains to operate on an express non-stop service.”
“Public transport plays a key role in the delivery of this goal. I agree with the Deputy with regard to giving a good experience to people and that if their experience is good, they will continue to use public transport. To support this objective, under budget 2025, a €652 million funding package was secured for the public service obligation, PSO, and Local Link services. As the Deputy will be aware, the Government is backing up its commitment to improving public transport with significant infrastructure investments across the network. Under the National Development Plan 2021-2030, the introduction of additional public transport infrastructure will help to relieve congestion on the transport network while also providing for new rolling stock to provide greater capacity for Iarnród Éireann’s increasing passenger numbers into the future.”
“I am delighted that Deputy Gogarty is talking about coming to Galway. We want people to come to Galway. At the outset, I wish to clarify that while the Minister for Transport, Deputy O’Brien, has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport, neither he, the Minister of State or our officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services rests with the NTA. The NTA works with the public transport operators which deliver the services and have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters. I reassure the Deputy that the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable and realistic sustainable mobility options.”
“I thank Senators for their engagement on the Bill, the first I have passed since I became Minister of State. It is a special moment for me.”
“I thank Senators for their input into the Bill and for facilitating Report and Final Stages. The Bill enhances our maritime safety regime in terms of maritime accident investigations and also provides for the necessary regulation making power to cater for vessels being used in the offshore service sector and the carriage of industrial personnel on those vessels. I once again take this opportunity to thank the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, MCIB, including its board, investigators and staff, for its ongoing work. The new unit will build on the important contribution it has made. I thank the previous Minister, Deputy Lawless, who initiated this Bill, and the officials in the Department for their ongoing support and help with the Bill.”
“Thank you, Chair. Where was I? I suppose what I would say is ORE necessitated the development of a new category of vessel to support the sector, especially vessels carrying industrial personnel, who are the workers engaged in the working, operation and servicing of such offshore projects. The vessels involved would typically be crude transfer vessels or other specialised servicing vessels for the maintenance of offshore wind turbines. This has resulted in the development of a new category of offshore worker, referred to as the "industrial personnel", and to the addition of a new chapter to the SOLAS Convention and a new International Code of Safety for Ships Carrying Industrial Personnel to regulate this new type of vessel carrying such personnel.”
“Offshore service vessels to be certified under this Bill are those vessels which carry industrial personnel engaged in the development of offshore renewable energy, including offshore wind energy. The International Maritime Organization recognises the growth of ORE-----”
“Instead, such carriers must be certified under the relevant provisions of the SOLAS Convention, including Chapter VII on the carriage of dangerous goods, and the International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk. LNG carriers do not fall within the scope of the Bill.”
“It is not intended that this will be the default position, but rather will occur in exceptional circumstances. The vessels we are talking about are new and evolving all the time, including in how they are powered, where some flexibility is required. Therefore, I cannot accept these amendments. On the LNG tankers, the carriers importing LNG into Ireland, which involves the carriage of dangerous goods on a large scale, are separate to what is proposed by the Bill. Given the primary purpose of such carriers is the transport of LNG internationally to Ireland, they would not be certified as offshore service vessels under the Bill.”
“The Senator has suggested several amendments to the provision but I must reiterate its practical nature, which ties in with my earlier explanation of the need to be flexible in applying the provisions of the SOLAS convention to vessels that do not fall within its scope. In addition, the safety convention itself has exemption provisions, which recognise that features of a novel kind may be required for certain vessels. Such exemptions are permitted where the vessel complies with the necessary safety requirements, as determined appropriate by the administration with regard to the type of voyage being undertaken. There are strict governance arrangements in place in these instances, with the State required to report any such exemption to the International Maritime Organization, which audits our compliance with its international conventions.”
“First, I wish to give some context for the exemption provision in section 46(9), to which these amendments relate. This is a practical provision, given the various types of offshore vessels we will be legislating for. For example, a small crew transfer vessel, which does not have the ability to carry cargo, may be exempt from the provisions in the rules related to the carriage of cargo. This provision is practical from a safety, construction and operational point of view to ensure we do not have a one-size-fits-all situation and can apply the rules having regard to the type and size of vessel, its purpose and its area of operation.”
“The purpose of Part 5 is to provide for the power of regulation of offshore service vessels. We are obliged, as part of the SOLAS Convention, to implement its provisions, including the new Chapter XV and its code for the safe carriage of industrial personnel. If and when the primary legislation is in place, work can commence on drafting the rules under this section to allow us to meet these obligations. However, we will provide rules not only for these vessels that fall within the scope of the SOLAS Convention but also for a broader range of vessels, including small vessels operating on domestic voyages to and from wind farms off the Irish coast. This is why we need to keep "may".”
“Senator Higgins also wishes to make it mandatory for any rules to include survey requirements. Offshore service vessels cannot be provided with a certificate under section 48 of this Bill without first having undergone the appropriate survey. I can confirm that any rules drafted under this section will set out the detailed survey requirements. For the reasons I have set out, I do not accept the amendments.”
“I would like the flexibility to be able to apply the provisions of the SOLAS Convention to these smaller vessels as far as is practical and that is why we need to use the word "may" instead of "shall" here. We need to be able to determine the most appropriate safety standards for the vessel based on its size, purpose and area of operation. It will not be practical to apply the SOLAS Convention in full to small vessels that are not captured by the convention. In addition, it is practical to have the option to have different sets of rules for different types of vessels. However, it will be determined during the drafting process as to what rules are required and whether a single set can be used to cover a range of vessels. As such, the use of the word "may" is practical for that purpose.”
“The vessels to be certified under this Bill will be used to carry industrial personnel to service the offshore wind industry. With regard to using the word "may" in relation to the SOLAS Convention, I want to restate that it is our intention to apply the SOLAS Convention in full to ships that fall within its scope, which are generally larger ships on international voyages. This is an obligation we must meet as a party to the convention. However, some of the vessels, such as the smaller crew transfer vessels that will operate over and back to the wind farms, do not fall within the scope of the SOLAS Convention, as they will be operating on domestic voyages.”