Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for his very helpful contribution. Members have raised some pertinent issues. It was very clear from the outset that those in the United Kingdom in favour of Brexit wished to assume exclusive control of Britain's fishing rights and that the 6 to 12 mile zone was, therefore, going to be of critical importance. It was also clear that the London Fisheries Convention would be part of the policy outline as a precursor to Brexit negotiations. If Ireland were in that situation, the Government would probably what the British Government has done. At the end of negotiations to leave the EU, Britain will disengage from the Common Fisheries Policy. If that happens and the London Fisheries Convention remains in place, the 6 to 12 mile zone will still be in existence and there will , therefore, be a contradiction. One can understand why that approach was taken.

Notwithstanding that the Minister has made a very reasoned and strong argument in terms of the Supreme Court judgment, the voisinageagreements and the need to accelerate the restoration of the situation that previously existed as custom and practice as a result of the exchange of documents or letters if not legally, it was foolhardy to go ahead with that before everything is crystallised. In April 2016, I said in the Dáil that there would soon be a new Parliament. Whatever about the longevity of the current Parliament, I anticipate that when the next one is elected in five years' time or whatever, Britain will still not be out of the EU. That is the problem. As a result, the London Fisheries Convention will have to remain in place for another five, six or seven years. It took the small country of Saint Barthélémy three or four years to leave the EU. It only had approximately 100 agreements with the EU while the United Kingdom has approximately 12,500. They could not all be dealt with even if they were worked on for 24 hours a day in the coming years. Brexit will be a very slow process.

It would have been wiser for the Minister to have stalled the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill in order to allow an overview to be acquired. I was always against the alacrity with which the Minister pursued the Bill. As Senator MacLochlainn said, the Minister has the best of motives and, as he comes from near Castletownbere, he is well aware of what is going on in the fishing industry. I am an inlander and a midlander and, as a result, I am not as proficient in my knowledge of the fishing industry as many other members. I defer to their greater knowledge. However, many people have said to me that the Common Fisheries Policy was not a great deal for Ireland. People have often compared it to giving away the rights to our oil, other natural resources and so on. If one cannot harvest it, it might not have worked out. Nevertheless, Ireland lost out significantly in the original negotiations. No matter how good a negotiator the Minister is - and I have no doubt he will do his best - he will never retrieve what was lost. There is no point crying over spilt milk. One cannot unscramble an egg. However, there has to be a concomitant negotiation in regard to fisheries as part of the overall trade. That will be very important in the context of trying to maintain the portion of the population who are trying to eke out a living from the fishing industry. In terms of the Bill, there are two separate things but they are parallel and collide at a point. It would have been beneficial if, rather than rushing the legislation through, the Minister engaged constructively with various stakeholders who have an input into various things. While the Department and the Minister's officials see one aspect to the issue, sometimes by taking an overview one gets a better result. One might not get agreement from all participants. Going by my experience, one would not because I have listened to fisheries groups before and there were as many views as there were fishermen, similar to how, if the views of farmers were to be canvassed, a small farmer would not agree with a big farmer. I would be inclined to take the side the smaller fishermen trying to make a living. While multimillion pound boats are expensive for their owners to purchase, I am more concerned by the lot of fishermen with boats worth €400,000 or €500,000. I am probably out of sync.

Surely the starting point from a political perspective is to foster good relations with like-minded member states. In order to do that, there should be a political consensus in Ireland and the Minister should enter into European negotiations with full backing and a political view representing the wider interests in terms of the fishing industry rather than a governmental or departmental view. I am no expert. I am more familiar with inland fisheries, which is also an important sector, although that is not well recognised. I say that to the Minister in passing.

I am worried by the registration process, which does not appear to be airtight. One can register from anywhere, come in and have a boat and avail of the 0 to 6 mile zone and so on. Senator MacLochlainn made the point more eloquently and knowledgeably than I. There is a fear on issue. Perhaps those processes could be explored in a positive way at a consultative forum. I would like to see that happen. There is a seanfhocail that says that if one acts in haste, one repents at leisure. Sometimes one might legislate and repent for a very long time in a state of crux, fear and apprehension. The Minister should invite people to offer views as to how the Bill can be made more progressive in order to encompass, address and allay some of the fears on the issue. Some of those fears may be unfounded but when people have fears, they express them strongly. They should be given an opportunity to express and articulate them, particularly people who have gone to the well, put their money in their pockets and made a massive financial sacrifice that could bring them down in terms of putting their necks on the line and being wiped out as a result of court cases. I learned much from the Supreme Court judgment, which I read carefully. Some of the points made by the Minister in that regard are correct but, nevertheless, people affected also have issues in terms of the outcome. The process is not finished and members cannot stray into what may happen next - I will not do so - but there should be an Oireachtas cross-party forum that can make a submission which carries the weight of the Oireachtas to help the Minister on his way because dealing with this issue will be a rocky ride. I hope the Minister has a lengthy spell in office. I do not want to see his time shortened but he will be long gone from office before the end of the road is reached. I hope he serves as both a Minister and a Deputy for a long time but I have never resiled from the view that this process could take between five and ten years, which is a long time for the many people apprehensive as to the outcome. I am sick and tired of people prognosticating about what will happen. Uncertainty is the only certainty, which is a very worrying development for all concerned, including governments.