Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 1 July 2025
Committee on Fisheries and Maritime Affairs
Review of Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006: Discussion
2:00 am
Mr. Brendan Byrne:
Briefly, from a processing perspective, we are under constant monitoring. As I said at the outset, we have CCTV cameras, live feedback to the SFPA's offices, unannounced checks, announced checks, cross-checks and every check in the wide world that anyone can possibly think of, which we welcome. In actual fact, as CEO of the Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association I am on the record of saying why not put in the inspectors 24-7 and 365 days of the year in the factory? Do that but allow us to function so that we can employ people and have economic activity in our factories and coastal communities. There are rules and law and they will be obeyed. We have no difficulty with that but when a rule and a law is interpreted in such a way that it prohibits people from making a livelihood or creating employment in rural areas, then that is where I have a difficulty.
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