Mr. Tom Woolley:

There are two sides to this. I believe that in the fisheries chapter, the programmes the fishing industry has engaged in to reduce its contribution to litter are cited. More importantly, the marine litter policy within the NMPF recognises such sources, but in a way the approach that has been taken in the plan is to be "source neutral", if I can put it that way. It is also in line with the policy approach taken in the NMPF. The supporting material makes reference to a number of ongoing initiatives in the context of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, MSFD, but also within Ireland to look at the issue of different litter sources. However the principle remains the same, in that we should apply a waste hierarchy approach no matter what industry is involved or what the source of litter might be. That is the approach that is being taken. I do not think it is a deliberate attempt to obfuscate contributions by any particular interest, rather that the plan takes the view that everyone should be working to reduce litter.