Mr. Jeremy Percy:

I thank the Chairman for the opportunity to respond. I never said that the quota was owned in Ireland or that there were ITQs in Ireland. However, I said that 90% of the landings are landed by the four PO vessels and that, to me, looks like a de facto ownership system. I will not get into whether the MSC accreditation is good, bad or indifferent. It has been challenged on a number of occasions.

I stress this is not about them and us per se; this is about providing a fair allocation of a national resource to those who are particularly in need of it in view of their geographical, social and economic situation.