§ Viscount Merseyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they still own, maintain and staff the Irish lighthouses.
§ Lord Lucas of ChilworthHer Majesty's Government have never at any time owned, maintained or staffed the Irish lighthouses, but are nonetheless closely concerned with them.
Under the Merchant Shipping Act 1984, which forms part of the law of the Republic of Ireland as well as of the United Kingdom, the Commissioners of Irish Lights are responsible for the superintendence and management of all lighthouses in the Republic and in Northern Ireland that are not the responsibility of 397WA local lighthouse authorities: for example, ports and harbour boards. These lighthouses are vested in the commissioners, but they are ultimately the property of the General Lighthouse Fund.
The commissioners maintain and staff their lighthouses subject to the specific approval of my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport of the establishment and of the expenditure entailed. That expenditure, too, is met from the General Lighthouse Fund.
The fund, for which my right honourable friend is responsible as a quasitrustee, is derived from light dues paid by shipping in ports in the United Kingdom and the Republic; but those dues, although set by my right honourable friend and by the responsible Irish Minister, are not part of the United Kingdom public revenues, and hence the fund is private money.