John Dennehy (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Tá mór-áthas orm cúpla focal a rá ar an mBille seo. Ar dtús báire, ba mhaith liom chomhghairdeas a ghabháil leis an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Ó Gallachóir. I have deliberately congratulated the Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher, in response to some comments which were made earlier today. He has recognised in this Bill that the consolidation of a great deal of legislation relating to the fisheries sector and marine matters is long overdue. I hope the Minister of State will continue his efforts to consolidate all aspects of the legislation in this area, which is a mess. Deputy Howlin believes the House has not considered such legislation on many occasions, but it seems there is a great deal of it to be consolidated. The Minister of State's great knowledge of and commitment to the fishing industry have been recognised by every speaker. Deputy Howlin claimed Fianna Fáil backbenchers have been rattling their sabres or penknives in this regard. While they have expressed some concerns, my party's Deputies have shown a high level of consistency in their approach to this matter. I question the Labour Party's consistency, however. It is right that Deputy Howlin is terribly concerned about people in County Wexford who are involved in the fisheries sector, but we need to be concerned about all the fishermen in the industry. Almost all the Irish MEPs, including all my party colleagues in the European Parliament, signed a letter expressing their objections to the Bill before the House and the thinking behind it. Given that the only Irish MEP who did not sign the latter was a Labour Party MEP, Proinsias De Rossa, it is legitimate to ask whether the Labour Party is adopting one approach in this House to suit the fishermen in its Deputies' constituencies and a different approach in the European Parliament.

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