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In Salutem Omnium -
For The Safety of All is the motto of the Commissioners of Irish
Lights.
The Commissioners of Irish Lights are the General Lighthouse
Authority for the whole of Ireland, its adjacent seas and
islands. The Commissioners are responsible for the provision and
maintenance of lighthouses, buoys, beacons, and radio aids to
marine navigation to assist the safe and expeditious passage of
all classes of mariners in general navigation; Sanctioning the
establishment, alteration, or discontinuation of local aids to
marine navigation in ports, harbours and on coastlines which are
within the jurisdiction of a local lighthouse authority in
accordance with international standards; this includes
sanctioning the marking and lighting of fish farms, oil and gas
rigs, and other hazards; The inspection of local aids to
navigation to ensure they comply with international standards
and the statutory sanction granted; Marking or removing wreck
which is a danger to navigation, where no harbour or conservancy
authority has the power to do so.
The statutory basis for the Commissioners' activities in the
Republic of Ireland is the Merchant Shipping Act 1894, the
Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Wreck) Act 1993, and the Merchant
Shipping (Commissioners of Irish Lights) Act 1997.
The statutory basis for the Commissioners' activities in
Northern Ireland is the UK Merchant Shipping Act 1995, and the
Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act 1997.
On 2 December 1999 the Irish and UK Governments signed orders
establishing the six Implementation Bodies agreed in the Belfast
Agreement. One of these is the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish
Lights Commission. Primary legislation is required in both
Westrninster and Dublin to enable the functions of the
Commissioners of Irish Lights to be incorporated into the new
body. In the meantime the Commissioners of Irish Lights continue
to operate under existing Irish and UK law.
The Commissioners are committed to providing technologically
advanced Aids to Navigation service for all mariners at the
least possible cost in compliance with national and
international obligations. In conjunction with Trinity House
Lighthouse Service and the Northern Lighthouse Board, the
Commissioners conduct regular reviews to ensure that the level
and mix of aids to navigation provided is appropriate to the
needs of all classes of mariner in general navigation.
The Services provided by the Commissioners are financed from the
General Lighthouse Fund. The income of the General Lighthouse
Fund is mainly derived from light dues charged on commercial
shipping at ports in Ireland and Great Britain, supplemented by
an annual contribution from the Irish Exchequer towards the cost
of the services provided by the Commissioners in the Republic of
Ireland.
The Irish Lights Vessel Granuaile is deployed to maintain the
aids to navigation provided by the Commissioners. A contract
helicopter is used to transport maintenance personnel and
materials to and from exposed offshore lighthouses. The
Commissioners' Lighthouse Depot and engineering workshops are at
Dun Laoghaire Harbour.
 The legal basis for the operations of the Commissioners of Irish
Lights dates back to an Act passed by the Irish Parliament
sitting in Dublin in 1786. This act of Grattan's Parliament
created a body entitled: "The Corporation for preserving and
improving the Port of Dublin". As indicated by its title, its
functions were the maintenance and preservation of the Port of
Dublin. Until the year 1810 it had no jurisdiction over, or
connection with lighthouses or allied matters. However, in that
year, subsequent to the abolition of the Irish Parliament, an
Act was passed by the British Parliament, entitled Lighthouses
(Ireland) Act 1810, which transferred to the Corporation created
by the Irish Act of 1786, all powers. duties and functions
relating to the control of Lighthouses around the coast of
Ireland. though the title and constitution of the Corporation
remained unchanged.
The Merchant Shipping Act of 1854 conferred on the Corporation a
new and separate title -'The Port of Dublin Corporation'. The
effect was, in essence, to divide the existing Corporation into
two distinct corporate bodies with separate functions. The
Corporation for Preserving and Improving the Port of Dublin. the
original body, was to maintain and improve the Port of Dublin
while the new body -The Port of Dublin Corporation had
transferred to it all functions. powers and duties in relation
to lighthouses, beacons etc. around the coast of Ireland.
In 1867, the severance begun by the Merchant Shipping Act of
1854 was completed. The new Act separated the Port of Dublin
Corporation from the Corporation for the Preserving and
Improving the Port of Dublin. In doing so it changed the name of
the former to the Commissioners of Irish Lights and the latter
to the Dublin Port and Docks Board. However, through the
provisions of the 1867 Act, the legislative provisions in regard
to the composition, method of election, power to appoint and
remove staff and to make rules, regulations, bye-laws, etc., of
the Commissioners of Irish Lights, continued to be those
provided for in the original Irish Act of Parliament of 1786.
 With the advent of Irish independence, it became necessary for
the new State to legitimise its functions. Though provided for
in the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State, it was not
until 1935 that things were finally regularised when adaptations
necessary to enable the Commissioners of Irish Lights to be
fully operative in the Irish Free State were made by an Order of
the Executive Council, entitled: Irish Lights Commissioners
Adaptation Order, 1935. Subject to these adaptations, the
relevant provisions of the Act of 1786 remain in force to date.
In a very real sense, the governance of the Commissioners of
Irish Lights remains a remarkable testimony to the far
sightedness and legislative ability of an Irish Parliament
sitting in Dublin in 1786.
The Commissioners of Irish Lights are in the accident prevention
business, which they conduct, in a hazardous environment. Lights
and lighthouses are the most visible manifestations of the way
they exercise their statutory responsibilities for the safety of
all mariners. There have been people in Ireland who, from the
earliest times have dedicated themselves to warning mariners of
the dangers of our coastline. Today this is the responsibility
of the Commissioners of Irish Lights, founded in 1867, but which
can trace its origins back to 1665 when Charles II granted
Letters Patent to a Sir Richard Reading to erect six lighthouses
on the Irish coast. It is a long and honourable tradition of
service.
However, lights and lighthouses are by no means the whole story.
Floating aids such as buoys and light floats, as well as the
service craft required to maintain them, continue to make up a
significant part of the Commissioners' work and super buoys with
superior aids to navigation and interactive capability are under
test. New technologies such as satellite positioning systems and
electronic charts are revolutionising navigation. The
Commissioners of Irish Lights have always been at the forefront
of technological change and are actively involved in the
provision of some of these systems including differential GPS, a
means of monitoring GPS integrity as recommended by IALA.
Introduction of a European civilian satellite navigation system
[Galileo] is being considered within 5-7 years.
In recent years obligations to a wider community have been
increasingly recognised. Solar and other forms of renewable
energy are now widely utilised; waste is recycled or carefully
disposed of in a non-polluting manner; and ways are sought to
preserve lighthouses, machinery and buildings where they
contribute to the national heritage.
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