Development of a Strategy for the Irish Maritime Directorate

Tá comhairliúchán dúnta

The Irish Maritime Directorate (IMD) is the term used to reflect the wide range of maritime responsibilities that fall within the remit of the Department of Transport. With Brexit on the horizon and an impending audit to be carried out by the International Maritime Organization, the decision was taken to review the work of the Directorate. This has led to the development of this strategy.

The draft maritime strategy is centred around six Core Objectives which essentially capture the wide range of activities undertaken by the IMD in a coherent manner and serve to clarify the policy imperative that underpins them. These objectives are:

1. Enhance Maritime Safety through effective regulation, implementation and compliance

2. Facilitate Maritime Trade and Connectivity

3. Deliver an effective Maritime Emergency Response (SAR and maritime casualty & pollution response)

4. Protect the Environment from Ship Source Pollution

5. Strive for Organisational Excellence

6. Focus on Customer Service and Stakeholder Engagement

Consideration has been given to what the IMD needs to do, in addition to what we currently do, in order to deliver on each Core Objective.

The final strategy will fall out of the Department of Transport’s Statement of Strategy and as such will be consistent with and seek to deliver on relevant Programme for Government commitments. It will also aim to embed an ethos of continuous improvement including regular reviews of procedures and practices, stakeholder engagement and communication strategies with the ultimate aim to measure and enhance our performance against the objectives set.

You are invited to review the proposed recommendations set out under each Core Objective in the consultation document attached and provide any comments you may have in relation to them as well as putting forward any views generally in relation to the development of a maritime strategy.

Reponses should be sent by email to maritimestrategy@transport.gov.ie before 5pm on Friday 11 December 2020. It is intended that all responses will be considered in the development of a final published maritime strategy document.