Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the officials for their presentation. My question follows the contributions of the two previous speakers. I would like further detail on the engagement with stakeholders and any concerns they have expressed to the Department about the plan. I ask the officials to deal with the discards issue and how the proposed measure can be implemented in a way which deals with the issue and is practical. There is a grave concern that in the absence of allowances for the type of catch which would previously have been dumped the objective would become unenforceable. It is something which is a great waste as things stand. The overall implementation needs to be practical in a way which is fair to fishermen and ensures the practice of discards can be discontinued.