Mr. Tom Moran:

I will hand some of those questions over to the specialists because some of the fishing aspects are extremely specialised and my colleagues have been working on them for a long time.

I will make one or two points. In terms of linking the Common Agricultural Policy and 2020, a key point in 2020 is seafood and one of the highlights of the 2020 strategy has been the development of the seafood sector. It is not that long a period since it came into our Department. We were lucky enough to bring in the team that was already dealing with, and they are excellent people. The deep sea aquaculture projects, for example, are serious game changers in the development of the sector. We often hear 2020 being discussed in terms of a huge increase in the value of milk, beef or pigmeat output but the seafood sector is up there with the best of them in terms of its potential, and it is something we are driving.

I will make some general points. I welcome the comments made on the discards. That got to where it is now based on an Ireland proposal in the Danish Presidency but all of this must go through the Parliament. Nothing has been finalised on that yet. The same would apply on the concessions. There are strong forces that would like to make that element of the CFP mandatory and therefore the fact that it has been written into the general approach does not necessarily mean that it is out. The Parliament will still have to answer in that regard.

On the Hague Preferences, something I came to know and love in the late December negotiations when I learned all about their importance and how vital it is to protect them, we are pleased that has been kept in in the same way under the existing regulations. That is hugely important.

On the general point, we are dealing with Commission proposals. There is no appetite in the Council for a complete change in the approach to quotas. We must deal with the hand we have been dealt but the relative stability issue is something to which we strongly adhere. We are trying to get the best possible deal within the set of current proposals, get those through Council and Parliament and perhaps steer a deal that best suits Ireland. Mr. Beamish might want to answer some of the other questions.