Mr. John Lynch:

I thank Deputy Ward for his question on the issue of targeted inspections. Whether inspections are targeted or not, the reasons they may or may not be targeted really are outside of what we would see as our issues that we have with the sea-fisheries Act. Our issues come after the inspection and the result of the inspection. Our issues are what are the sanctions, how are the sanctions applied and are they fair; it is not whether we are inspected. People accept that an industry is open to being inspected. It is the fairness and evenness of the application of the law, and evenness of the application of the rules around the regulations within the European Union that is important for us. We believe we should have a level playing field with the rest of the member states and that we are not subject to more stringent conditions than other member states. We have a strong opinion on particular pieces that could be amended to make it a better managed fishery and ensure a better level playing field with the rest of our partners in Europe.