Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I hope it will be a different kettle of fish. I hope it will be no kettle of fish at all — I hope it will be a big cauldron of fish for my community. Deputy O'Donovan is right to suggest that the final version of this legislation will be substantially different to the Bill before the House. Why is the House debating a Second Stage Bill that has no meaning? How can I comment in detail on the sections of the Bill if it is likely that they will be removed by the time the legislation is passed? Is it not a farcical way to abuse the scarce time of the House? We are all aware that additional time is needed if many other Bills are to be discussed on the floor of the House. It is not right to expect Members to talk about a Bill that will be changed anyway. The legislation will be amended because it is wrong, as it is currently drafted. The criminalising of working men, as envisaged in this Bill, is wrong.

I was responsible some years ago for introducing a Bill that provided for a system of graded penalties. That aspect of the legislation was founded on a simple maxim — the penalty must fit the crime. One cannot put in place a draconian penalty that does not change regardless of the extent to which the legal threshold has been crossed. I do not accept the imposition of a disproportionate sledgehammer approach to the issue of fines. If certain administrative processes are in place in other jurisdictions, we have to ensure they change their processes to mirror our processes, or that we change our processes to mirror their processes. We cannot have one rule for us and a different rule for others. If the owners of Irish vessels are prosecuted in the Circuit Court, their gear and catch will be automatically confiscated under this legislation.

The representatives of the fisheries sector have suggested a reasonable approach to this legislation. I would like to highlight the four points made by the organisations in question. First, they have proposed that the Bill should provide for administrative and graded sanctions, which is reasonable. Second, they have suggested that the section of the Bill providing for the appointment of a seafood control manager needs to be deleted. I would like to hear more details, before this Bill is passed on Second Stage, of the Minister's proposal to establish a new agency. Third, the organisations have argued that the automatic confiscation of gear and catch, which will apply only to Irish vessels, should be made discretionary for all vessels. Fourth, the representatives of the fisheries sector have called for the removal of the provision in the Bill that will allow firearms to be used against fishing vessels, a point that has already been conceded by the Minister of State. The provision in question could not be used because it would be a disaster.

I wish I had more time to debate these issues. I hope I have made a strong and forceful case for the maritime community of Kilmore Quay in my home county of Wexford. Communities like Kilmore Quay need assistance rather than draconian legislation of the kind that is proposed.

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