Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Beamish for his presentation. My concerns are along the same lines as those of Senator Mac Lochlainn. Dr. Beamish stated it was unclear why some stocks were included while others were not and outlined some of the Department's concerns. Did he outline all of his concerns? The presentation states that the Department has queried the inclusion of recreational fishing within the scope of the plan. What impact would that have on Ireland? Where is that coming from? As I understand it, we participate in the north-west waters and would have been involved in the drafting of this plan. Why would anything have come out of the blue when we have been involved in the process from start to finish? Is the European Commission acting totally independently and launching this on top of the north-west waters? What is the process?

I understood the process was sold to the fishing industry on the basis that we were actively involved in the drafting of the plans and that the plans would be drawn up at a local level by the countries which had concerns about the waters. I ask Dr. Beamish to outline the process and why we would be so surprised that they would be part of the in the process.

The plan concerns fishing fleets from Ireland, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom. As I understand it, those countries sit on the western waters regional council and draft and adopt the plans for the area. In that case, how can this be launched on its end, unknown to us? How do other countries contribute to the plan and the catching ability within it? The matter has been rectified, but I ask the delegation to clear that up. I refer to the reporting structures which, for example, Spain would give in regard to what it can catch. Has that been resolved? Is what it is catching and its ability to catch feeding into the plan and making it more robust?