Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I said I would not repeat myself but I am probably going to do exactly that. I would not be the first person to do it in these hallowed halls, even if there is limited connectivity to the outside world. As has already been said, this boils down to an argument about the standards of proof and the difference between the balance of probabilities and beyond a reasonable doubt. That is the crux of the matter as regards the unfairness. It means that whatever amendments are being brought forward are, to a degree, inconsequential unless we deal with the crux of the matter. That is where the matter stands. We will obviously be taking the position we are taking.

I am curious as to how long a fishermen requires a clean bill of health after a finding against him or her whereby penalty points are assigned. We do not accept the system as it exists because it is utterly unfair and there is not a sufficient amount of protections. We will deal with that during the discussion of other amendments. How long does it take for a fisherman's record to become clean? I accept that if anything else happens during that period, existing penalty points are maintained and additional ones are accrued.