Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

"Iris Oifigiúil" of 2nd April, 2010.

I, NOEL DEMPSEY, Minister for Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 2 of the section 7 of the Harbours Act, 1996 (No. 11 of 1996), such a company,

(iii) in the case of a fishery harbour centre to which the Fishery Harbour Centres Act, 1968 , applies, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food,

(iv) in the case of a harbour under the control of a local authority, the local authority concerned,

(v) in the case of a harbour under the management of Iarnród Éireann - Irish Rail,

(vi) in the case of a harbour under the management or control of any other person carrying on a trade consisting in whole or in part in the provision in the harbour concerned of such facilities and accommodation for vessels, goods and passengers as are ordinarily provided by a harbour authority (to which subparagraphs (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) or (v) apply) in a harbour in whole or in part under its management or control, that person;

(f) 'statutory authority' means a body established by statute or pursuant to a requirement in or in exercise of a power conferred by statute;

(g) 'pleasure craft' includes a pleasure yacht and means a vessel primarily used for sport or private recreation, and not engaged in any revenue earning or commercial activity or service.

6. Any ship (including a pleasure craft) subject to a periodical charge which is declared a total loss during a period for which it has paid or is liable to pay light dues, shall be deemed not to be liable to such dues from the last day of the month in which the said loss occurs; and such liability shall be reassessed on the proportion of the period prior to that date in accordance with paragraph 2(3) of Part I of this Schedule.

PART III EXEMPTIONS

The following ships or vessels shall be exempted from dues under this Schedule-

(1) Ships belonging to the Government or to a Minister of the Government or to a Sovereign foreign Government unless carrying cargo or passengers for freight or fares;

(2) Ships of less than 20 tons, other than ships liable to pay dues by reference to their length;

(3) Sailing ships used exclusively for sail training purposes, operating as travelling museums or vessels of historical interest;

(4) Tugs of less than 10 metres in length;

(5) Vessels for the time being employed in sea-fishing exclusive of vessels used for catching fish otherwise than for profit;

(6) Ships putting in solely for bunkers, stores, crew changes, embarkation or disembarkation of pilots, a medical emergency, or for provisions for their own use on board, unless they are otherwise engaged in any revenue earning or commercial activity or service;

(7) Ships putting in from stress of weather or because of damage or on voyages solely for the purpose of damage or running repairs, where they are not otherwise engaged in a revenue earning or commercial activity or service, provided they do not discharge or load cargo other than cargo discharged with a view to such repairs, and afterwards reshipped;

(8) Ships navigating solely and entirely within the limits of a harbour authority unless such limits include a lighthouse, buoy or visible beacon maintained by the general lighthouse authority at the expense of the General Lighthouse Fund;

(9) Any ship (including a pleasure craft) in respect of any year ending 31st March during the whole of which it is laid up: and in the case of any such ship which has opted to pay in two payments as provided for in paragraph 2(1)(b) of Part I of this Schedule, this exemption shall apply in respect of any period covered by such option, during the whole of which it is laid up;

(10) Vessels engaged solely in harbour maintenance, dredging, building or maintenance of sea defences or land reclamation on behalf of a statutory authority or harbour authority;

(11) Vessels solely engaged in pollution control prevention or recovery on behalf of a statutory authority;

(12) Vessels engaged solely in the transportation of sewerage water to spoil grounds by or on behalf of a statutory authority;

(13) Dumb barges, lighters, hulks or other vessels being towed which are specifically designed and built without a means of propulsion".

3. The Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) Order, 2009 ( S.I. No. 297 of 2009 ) is hereby revoked.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

30 March 2010.

NOEL DEMPSEY,

Minister for Transport.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

This Order revokes and replaces the Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) Order, 2009. It increases the level of light dues levied on Merchant Shipping collected from vessels calling to ports within the State from 57cent to 60 cent per ton from 1 April 2010 and increases the tonnage ceiling from 35,000 net registered tonnage (NRT) to 40,000 (NRT). The maximum number of voyages for which dues may be levied remains at 9 voyages in any one year.