Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

Low fines in some member states do not and cannot justify Ireland deciding to reduce the level of penalties. I am committed to building sustainable sea fisheries and strengthening control of these fisheries. It is necessary to support this objective with penalties that are dissuasive.

Section 32 aims to capture the ill-gotten gains arising from illegal sea fishing and should serve to effectively deter such activity. The court will decide the issue in any case, with the guidance of the detailed provisions of the section. The section is a necessary addition to the current suite of statutory provisions for the imposition by the courts of fines and forfeitures and may be used even if it is not feasible to take Court proceedings for an offence of illegal fishing. Measures such as these are needed to safeguard fish stocks and allowable catches for the law-abiding and should commend themselves widely.

The updating of the legislative framework for sea fisheries is regarded by the Government as an integral part of its commitment to modernising structures and delivering sustainable sea fisheries to ensure long-term economically prosperous coastal communities. The €45 million scrappage scheme for the whitefish and shellfish sections of the Irish fleet, which the Government agreed last July, demonstrates this commitment clearly. It presents an opportunity to decommission vessels over 15 years of age that are more than 18 metres in length in the whitefish sector and more than 15 metres in length in the shellfish sector. We invited those who wish to decommission vessels to do so. BIM is dealing with the applications on our behalf and as soon as I have details on the numbers, tonnage, etc., I will make them available to the House.

See this speech in context