Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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I assure Mr. Murphy and the rest of the witnesses that we believe if anybody is accused of anything, the fisheries should get due process. That is only a natural course of justice. I assure Mr. Murphy also, and I would say I speak for all committee members, that we believe the leaks going on are totally unacceptable, especially given the witnesses tell us the SFPA is not even communicating with them.

I wish briefly to raise three things. The first is for the Killybegs contingent. They heard the reply we got from the SFPA earlier about the weighing system in Killybegs. The SFPA representatives say there are legal issues around the weighing system there and the equipment. We have been led to believe the SFPA was involved in the installation of that equipment. Will the Killybegs contingent share with us their feeling on that?

The Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association has made it quite clear that, as far as it is concerned, the SFPA just cannot handle the remit it has been given in terms of fishing control and that it has taken its eye off the quality aspect.

Is it the view of the witnesses that the SFPA has done this deliberately in order to focus its attention someplace else and that is why there is so much secrecy involved? On the Commission audit, it is crazy that so many families and fishers like the witnesses, who cannot even access the report, are affected. Could they give us an idea of how large an impact there will be on catches - in the context of an open weighing process - when temperatures start to increase?