Leo Varadkar News

MV Celine, the world’s largest short sea Ro-Ro ship, will today be christened in a ceremony at Dublin Port with guest of honour, An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar TD, Godmother to the new ship, Geraldine O’Reilly, and the port’s chaplains. The formal ceremony is a long-held tradition intended to bring good fortune to the ship and involves breaking a champagne bottle against the hull as the ship is christened. To mark today’s occasion, new Irish music commissioned by Dublin Port and performed by John Sheahan of the Dubliners and Colm Mac Con Iomaire of the Frames will premiere at the ceremony, heralding the ship’s naming in front of invited guests representing her Luxembourg-based owner CLdN and the wider European shipping industry.

Irish Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar has announced that Dublin Port Company has paid a dividend of €8 million to the State based on its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2013. The payment is in line with the company’s commitment to making a dividend payment of 30% of profit after tax, annually. It follows the company’s total dividend payment of €15 million last year, which included a once-off special dividend of €8 million, and brings total dividend payments to the State by the port to €69.8 million over the last eight years.

Ireland’s Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar has called for a sea change in attitudes to maritime safety, as he launched a new consultation process on maritime safety: Sea Change – Building a new Maritime Safety Culture. Minister Varadkar highlighted the 134 maritime fatalities which have occurred since 2002, almost half of which were as a result of leisure activities on recreational craft. He was speaking at the launch of the consultation process in the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport which included stakeholders from shipping, fishing, leisure, passenger operators, maritime safety and many other sectors. Minister Varadkar said: “We all need to take a fresh look at how we use the waters in and around our island…

The Government of Ireland's Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar,  informs that the Cabinet has approved the draft General Scheme of a new Bill with important implications for Ireland’s vital port sector. The Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2014 will allow the five designated Ports of Regional Significance in Drogheda, Dún Laoghaire, Galway, New Ross and Wicklow to transfer to local authority ownership at a future date, in line with Government policy to strengthen local government. These five ports play an important role through tourism, leisure amenity, and regional trade. The Government has decided that their future is best secured under strong local governance. “This is an important Bill for the ports sector, which plays a major role in the Irish economy.

Irish Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar has today opened the newly-built Coast Guard Station in Killybegs which provides the voluntary crew with top-class accommodation and training facilities. It’s the third new Coast Guard building opened by Minister Varadkar since the election, and a fourth new premises will open at Doolin in the next few months. Minister Varadkar is hoping to open at least one new Coast Guard facility every year for the life-saving Coast Guard volunteers. Minister Varadkar also confirmed that the Coast Guard has commenced a new round of recruitment for radio officers for its three monitoring stations in Dublin, Valentia and Malin.

Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar has welcomed the publication by the Irish Maritime Administration in his Department of a revised Code of Practice for the Design, Construction, Equipment and Operation of Small Fishing Vessels (less than 15 meters length). The Code, which was last revised in 2005, has been updated to ensure that the experiences gained from its implementation as well as relevant recommendations by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) have been incorporated. The revised Code will come into operation from 3rd March 2014. Small fishing vessels are already required to carry EPIRBs (Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacons).

Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar officially launched the Coast Guard’s new state-of-the-art S92 search and rescue helicopter for the Dublin region in Weston Airport. This is the fourth Sikorsky S92 helicopter base to come into operation for the Coast Guard and means all four Coast Guard bases now have upgraded helicopters. The new S92 helicopters replace the Sikorsky S61 which was in use until recently at the Coast Guard bases in Dublin, Shannon, Sligo and Waterford.

The Irish Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, Leo Varadkar, will officially launch the new Coast Guard helicopter for the East Coast region next Monday, January 13 at Dublin Weston Airport. This will complete the upgrading of the Coast Guard’s search & rescue helicopter fleet from Sikorsky S61 to S92 craft.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar TD has announced the publication of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Bill 2013. The Bill is one of the Minister’s legislative priorities and is part of an overall objective to update and enhance the national maritime legislative code, and ensure the safety of maritime transport services. The importance of ship registration is that it confers Irish nationality on ships, allowing them to fly the Irish flag and register ownership. The new Bill will provide a basis for the introduction of an updated and modernized ship registration system in Ireland. Among the new categories of vessels for which the Bill proposes registration are fishing boats less than 15 meters in length overall…

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar TD has announced the publication of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Bill 2013. The Bill is one of the Minister’s legislative priorities and is part of an overall objective to update and enhance the national maritime legislative code, and ensure the safety of maritime transport services. The importance of ship registration is that it confers Irish nationality on ships, allowing them to fly the Irish flag and register ownership. The new Bill will provide a basis for the introduction of an updated and modernized ship registration system in Ireland. Among the new categories of vessels for which the Bill proposes registration are fishing boats less than 15 meters in length overall…

Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar has welcomed a new ferry route into Ireland in a matter of weeks, after LD Ferries confirmed a weekly service from western France and northern Spain. The LD Ferries service will connect Rosslare with St Nazaire on the west coast of France, and with Gijón in northern Spain. “This is a very welcome announcement and provides a valuable new landbridge from France and Spain into Ireland. It’s the first service of its kind to Ireland, and it’s great news for our tourism industry. “This is the second positive announcement of a new ferry service in a matter of weeks. Last November a new route from Cherbourg to Dublin was announced.

A new direct passenger car ferry service linking Dublin with the French port of Cherbourg is being introduced by Irish Ferries with the first sailing departing from Dublin on January 18. The once-weekly, year-round service – which the company’s head of passenger sales Dermot Merrigan said “will bring the European motorways directly into the heart of our capital city” – will depart from Dublin every Saturday (15.30) arriving into Cherbourg next morning (11.30). Return sailings will depart Cherbourg each Sunday (17.00) with early arrival back in Dublin on Monday morning (11.00).

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar unveiled an Action Plan to improve Maritime Safety and Marine Emergency Response Services, including an overhaul of operations within the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. The Action Plan will set up a new, over-arching maritime safety section inside the Department - the Irish Maritime Administration - which will bring together the Irish Coast Guard and the Marine Survey Office. Speaking after Cabinet approved the Action Plan…