UK Shipping Minister Mike Penning and Irish Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey have reached an agreement that will see aids to navigation off the coast of the Republic of Ireland wholly funded from domestic sources there by the financial year 2015 /2016.

Under existing arrangements, the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) effectively receives a subsidy for its activities in the Republic of Ireland from levies paid by ships calling at UK ports. Now the two Ministers have agreed to phase this out, with a view to CIL’s Republic of Ireland operations being funded entirely from domestic sources there by 2015/2016.