Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

Section 28 updates and consolidates penalty provisions, dating from 1978, and updated subsequently on an ad hoc basis, for a variety of sea fisheries offences according to the following principles. The EU Common Fisheries Policy requires a deterrent and dissuasive system of penalties, applicable to any offenders against Irish law. A person who fishes illegally should not benefit from that activity and no stakeholder — politician, processor or producer — would differ with me on that. No one should benefit from that activity in accordance with the obligations imposed on member states by the EU Common Fisheries Policy. The current Irish penalties regime, including forfeitures, is designed as a deterrent and dissuasive regime and great care needs to be exercised in introducing any fundamental change. Any change would have to be justified objectively, for clear policy grounds and would need to show that it furthered the deterrent and dissuasive requirement of the EU Common Fisheries Policy. The increases in maximum fines proposed should be sufficient to provide an effective range of fines for the courts to deal with both large and small scale economic infractions and large and small boats. These are maximum fines and it will be a matter for the courts to decide on the fine to be imposed in any particular case. It is generally accepted that the penalty should fit the crime but that is a matter for the judges, not for the Minister.

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