The owners of pleasure craft - yachts and motorboats - may have to register their boats with the Government for the first time ever.
The Minister for the Marine, Dermot Ahern, has ordered a review of whether the present situation, under which there are no controls and no registration of these boats, should be allowed continue.
Commercial vessels, fishing and other boats that are over 15 registered tons in weight must be registered, so that the State knows who owns them, where they operate, how many they carry aboard and in which port they are based.
But there are no such controls or registration for private pleasure craft. Mr Ahern has ordered the Maritime Safety Directorate to review that situation, examine whether there should be a register for pleasure craft and to finalise their report in two months - just as the season gets underway for pleasure craft.
It follows a huge increase in leisure craft in the past few years and increasing numbers of calls made from this sector on the rescue services.
There have also been some security concerns about the difficulties of tracing boat ownership in this sector. But the Minister has indicated his main concern is safety at sea and the information which such a register could provide in the case of emergencies.
