Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

If a non-EU vessel breaches the EU regulations the criminal sanctions can be applied and those infringing these can be taken to court and prosecuted for that. Because the penalty points are administrative and are within the EU competence, they do not apply to the UK. Ideally, the objective is to try to ensure that there is a system in place to prevent a very small minority who might breach the regulations. It would make much more sense if the UK can be part of that. They were part of that up until Brexit. This is another reflection of the impact of Brexit. It is possible that there can be engagement between the EU and Britain to agree bilaterally that the system would apply. That would require the agreement of both. Likewise, when our vessels are in British waters, the licensing system and points system is different with the British authorities.