Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Gleeson and his team and thank them for making themselves available this evening. In view of the limited time, I will go straight to discussing a pertinent issue.

There are reports that the European Commission has made a ruling on the withdrawal of the derogation relating to fish weigh-ins at factories. This matter is being reported in terms that Ireland cannot be trusted to guarantee that fraud can be detected. I am sure Mr. Gleeson will agree that Irish fishermen will be utterly aghast at such an assertion. Is the Department aware whether the Commission intends to impose financial penalties on Ireland? More importantly, what actions does the Department intend to take to challenge the Commission's ruling? The SFPA has expanded greatly in size in recent years so either fraud is being committed and not being detected, which would be widely disputed, or the processes are not in place to give the European Commission the assurances that it requires. Will Mr. Gleeson confirm whether it is the Department's intention to lodge a robust appeal.