Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

To avoid legal doubt and in the interests of coherence and accessibility for all concerned, it was also decided to update and consolidate the law from 1894 relating to the registration of sea fishing boats. Those provisions are in Chapter 6 of Part 4. For convenience, section 64 contains the up-to-date text of the law relating to sea fishing boat licensing, incorporating the changes made by section 53 of the Maritime Safety Act 2005.

I now turn to other provisions relating to sea fisheries matters, namely, the substantive sections 65, 66 and 67, which are designed to clarify the law and benefit the law-abiding in the light of evolving needs and circumstances. Section 65 is intended to prevent competitive distortion due to non-compliance by some sea fishing enterprises with tax obligations. The section imposes tax clearance requirements for the grant of sea fishing boat licences, because licensing provides access to a very valuable public resource. Tax clearance is a requirement for the grant of taxi licences for that reason. The section will be commenced by ministerial order as soon as necessary consultations on the matter have taken place after the Bill is enacted.

Section 66 clarifies the scope of ministerial policy directives to the sea fishing boat licensing authority or appeals officers, so as to include a specific reference to measures to control and regulate the capacity of the sea fishing fleet and the rational management of fisheries. The detailed directives already in place have been duly presented to both Houses of the Oireachtas as the 2003 Act requires, and are readily viewable on the Department's website. Section 67 reduces unnecessary bureaucracy by exempting from compulsory registration as a ship under the Mercantile Marine Act 1955 any sea fishing boat of less than 15 metres in length overall which is registered in the statutory register of fishing boats or is formally exempted for such registration.

Section 27 is intended to facilitate Circuit Court proceedings for indictable offences under the Fisheries Acts by restoring the pre-2001 arrangements for cases to be sent forward for trial without unnecessary District Court proceedings, and should be welcomed.

The House will be glad to note the continuing significant development of aquaculture within the statutory framework provided by the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997, as refined by the 1998 and 2001 Fisheries Acts. The period since the enactment of the 1997 Act has, overall, been one of significant growth and development for the aquaculture sector, and the value of its output in 2004 was some €98 million. It is now a key component of overall seafood production and is generally recognised as having the capacity to play a critical role in the economic life of many coastal peripheral areas. The objective must be to ensure that the sector's further development is on a sustainable and environmentally friendly basis. The regulatory framework established by the 1997 Act is central to the achievement of this objective, and the proposed changes to that framework are designed to enhance its operational effectiveness. It is proposed that licence renewals may be granted for the continuance of well-run aquaculture operations of long standing, without the renewal in all cases having to be formally effected before the licences in question have expired.

As the House will appreciate, it may not be possible in every case to have all the necessary site inspections, or water and other analyses, formally completed before a particular date. In such circumstances it would clearly be unfair to disrupt efficient, well-run operations on what would be something of a technicality. It is proposed, therefore, that a licensee who has applied for a renewal of his or her licence will be able to continue to operate, subject to the terms and conditions of the licence, until a decision is made on the renewal application. I am relaxing the current blanket provisions for terminating a licence if I am satisfied that the operations could not commence within two years, as is the current position, or have been suspended for a continuous period of two years, for bona fide reasons such as illness on the part of the licence holder, fish health or environmental conditions.

This is not a charter for people to acquire licences speculatively in the hope that after some years they can assign them to a third party. On the contrary, where licensed sites are simply not being used, the licences will be revoked and made available to others who are willing and able to operate the sites more productively.

The opportunity is also being taken to facilitate the reduction of licensed sites and licensed production, and the use of novel or experimental equipment, subject to appropriate conditions. The problem mainly arises in bottom culture where substantial portions of licensed sites may prove to be unsuitable for cultivation. At present licence holders wishing to reduce the size of their licensed areas and benefit from a proportional reduction in licence fees are obliged to go through the licensing process anew. I do not consider this to be necessary or appropriate and believe it should be open to a licensee to simply request the reduction of the licensed area or the permitted production.

While these changes relating to aquaculture are essentially technical in nature, I hope they will effect a beneficial streamlining of the licensing process. Aquaculture production is primarily intended for human consumption and food safety considerations must therefore prevail.

Section 69 is designed to safeguard Exchequer revenues by preventing the build-up of arrears of charges for services provided at the five State-owned fishery harbours and allowing the fishery harbour centres to continue to meet customer needs, which are not confined to the fisheries sector. I will deal with the question of arrears in more detail on Committee Stage.

The essential core of the Bill is an important suite of provisions to strengthen sea fisheries law and improve enforcement arrangements to safeguard sea fish stocks for sustainable fishing and rational management. All accept that we are the custodians and must ensure that we protect the resources of not just Ireland but all of Europe. There is an obligation on every Member and on the European Commission to ensure that we have a sustainable fishery and preserve resources for future generations. I look forward to the contributions of other Members.

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