Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 6, to delete lines 19 to 21 and substitute the following:

“ ‘points’ means points assigned to a master of a sea-fishing boat for a serious infringement in accordance with Annex XXX to the Commission Regulation or section 15U, as the case may be;”.

Section 6 makes provision for the required EU point system for masters of sea-fishing vessels by inserting into the 2006 Act a new Chapter 2A, entitled "Regulation of Irish fishing masters". Chapter 2A currently consists of 20 sections, those being, 15A to 15T, inclusive. Under the new chapter, the Minister shall establish and maintain a register of Irish citizens who are masters of sea-fishing boats and the points assigned to each such master. The register shall contain certain details, for example, a master's name, address, contact details, etc. The control authorities shall have access to and may examine the register. The Minister may refuse to register a person if his or her application for registration is incomplete, inaccurate, false or misleading. However, the person concerned may make representations to the Minister before any such decision is taken. It shall be an offence for a person to furnish the Minister knowingly with false or misleading information when applying for registration. A certificate of master registration shall be issued by the Minister in respect of each person registered or entered in the register. Data entered in the register shall be stored only for as long as necessary for the operation of the register. It shall be an offence for an Irish citizen to take charge or attempt to take charge of an Irish or foreign sea-fishing boat unless he or she is registered.

The procedures around detection and notification of alleged serious infringements of the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy committed by masters and the subsequent assignment of points by the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, closely resemble those provided for in a separate point system already in place under the European Union (Common Fisheries Policy) (Point System) Regulations 2020 - SI 318 2020 - for the holder of a sea-fishing boat licence established in response to the same EU legislation. First, the same independent determination panel and independent appeals officer will determine, on the balance of probability, whether a serious infringement has occurred. Second, the procedures and timelines laid down in the Bill for the determination panel and the appeals officer to make their determinations are similar to those provided for under SI 318. Third, the master can request an oral hearing before one or both of the determination panel and appeals officer. Fourth, a decision of the appeals officer to assign points can be appealed to the High Court on a point of law. Fifth, points assigned to a master remain assigned regardless of any criminal proceedings in respect of the serious infringement concerned. Finally, points assigned to a foreign master will be notified to the relevant authorities in the relevant member state.

The accumulation of points will result in the suspension of a master from the register, meaning that he or she will be prohibited from taking control of an Irish or foreign sea-fishing boat wherever it may be. The period of the suspension is determined by the number of points accumulated. The higher the number, the longer the suspension. The accumulation of 18, 36, 54 and 72 points will trigger suspensions of two, four, eight and 12 months, respectively. A master who has accumulated 90 points or more or received five suspensions shall be removed from the register by the Minister. When points are assigned to a master on the register, the Minister shall notify him or her of certain matters. It shall be an offence for a sea-fishing boat licence holder to employ a person knowing that he or she has been suspended or removed from the register.

The first section of Chapter 2A, section 15A, relates to the interpretation and application of Chapter 2A of Part 2 and provides for definitions of certain terms appearing throughout the chapter. These definitions cover the relevant EU regulations, the statutory instrument for licence holders and terms used through the chapter, including "appeals officer", "determination panel", "certificate of master registration", "competent authority", "serious infringement" and "sea-fishing boat licence". Section 15A(2) aligns the use of a word or expression in the chapter with that in EU regulation unless the context requires otherwise. Section 15A(3) provides that this chapter is without prejudice to section 2 of the Merchant Shipping (Certification of Seamen) Act 1979. This means that all of the prescribed qualifications and other requirements for manning of vessels apply and that the requirement to be on the fishing boat register is a separate requirement.

I have proposed amendments Nos. 2, 3, 8 and 25. Currently, the Bill provides that a serious infringement for which points should apply means an infringement of the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy mentioned in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 404/2011. The annex lists 12 serious infringements for which points should apply, none of which relates to violations of the land obligation. Regarding the landing obligation, under the Common Fisheries Policy, all catches of species subject to catch limits may no longer be discarded and must be retained on board and landed. This obligation to land all catches has been gradually phased in over several years, beginning in 2015 with pelagic fisheries before being extended to demersal fisheries in 2016. In 2019, it was fully implemented across all International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, ICES, areas in EU waters and all total allowable catch, TAC, species.

It was fully implemented across all International Council for Exploration of the Seas, ICES, areas, in EU waters and for all species subject to total allowable catch limits in 2019.

Subsequent to the enactment of the 2011 implement regulation, a 2015 EU regulation amended both Articles 90 and 92 of the EU fisheries control regulation, which made the original provision for both points systems. The effect of the two 2015 EU law amendments, taken together, is to provide in EU law that points should apply to a sea-fishing boat licence holder for violations of the landing obligation. However, due to an inadvertent oversight, this provision was not included in the published Bill. It is now proposed that the Bill be amended to provide that points should be assigned to a master who commits serious infringements under the landing obligation. It is also proposed that five points should be assigned to a master who infringes the landing obligation as that is the quantum proposed in the draft EU fisheries control regulations currently under negotiation at EU level.