Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the four witnesses to the committee and thank Mr. Kelly for his presentation. I commend him on the tremendous research and documentation that he has put in front of us for consideration.

I have a few questions. My understanding of voisinage previously was that it affected the zero to 12-mile zone and that the practice meant that UK registered boats were able to fish inside the zero to 12-mile zone. The witness is saying to us that technically the voisinage agreement did not facilitate that and that it was the zero to six-mile zone for most of the country, apart from part of the east coast, which allowed it from zero to 12 miles. Can the witness elaborate a little further on that and tell the committee his basis for saying that?

Voisinage was in place up until the Supreme Court decision. How much was the agreement utilised by UK-registered boats within Irish waters, particularly the zero to 12-mile zone? In terms of the reciprocal arrangement available to Irish boats, how much would it have been used by Irish boats fishing within UK coastal waters?

The witness mentioned in his contribution that the new Bill is based on an intention not to prosecute. I would appreciate if he would elaborate further on what he meant by that.

Can the witness elaborate further on how the voisinage agreement impacted on his own sector and his own business in terms of why the witnesses decided to take the joint case?

The witness made a comment on the Moville district and Lough Foyle having no allocations for next year. What does that mean?