Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)

If everyone is against this Bill, why is it going through the Houses? Is it not significant that only one of our MEPs supports this Bill? Why does the Minister of State want the Bill to go through at this time? Does he know something we do not? If he does, he should share it with us so that we may see the light in what he is trying to do. I can see no logic in it. If he has acquired some secret knowledge from the EU or from his officials, he should let us know. This House is the place where we can put things right in legislation.

We are being asked to debate and pass a law, the true meaning of which remains unknown. The Minister of State should not leave gaping holes to be later filled by regulation.

That is a serious matter. Sidelining the Oireachtas and giving this Minister, or future Ministers, power by regulation is not the correct way to pass legislation. How can Members know what Minister will be responsible in the future? Perhaps the next Minister will not even represent a marine constituency. However, although we have such a Minister now, he does not appear to be heeding what fishermen want.

As multinationals come and go, we should learn to support our home industries, which will always remain in Ireland. As an island nation, we need to protect our fishing industry. In this respect, we can learn from our EU neighbours. Across Europe, the majority of member states deal with fisheries offences by way of administrative penalties. For example, in Spain in 2001, only four out of 3,500 fisheries offences went to the courts. Under existing legislation, all fisheries offences in Ireland are tried through the criminal courts. The subsequent fines imposed are significantly higher than anywhere else in Europe. This has been acknowledged by a number of EU Commission reports. Moreover, a criminal conviction for any person can have serious repercussions. This should not be the case in this respect. For example, criminal convictions are likely to interfere with fishermen's civil liberties. Many fishing families have children in America and possession of a criminal record might debar such fishermen from being able to visit their relatives in the United States. That is a serious matter which does not apply to other EU countries.

The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources has consistently failed to manage our sea fishing resources. It has allowed the pelagic fish fleet to increase over the last number of years. The effect of the arrival of larger ships has been to increase the capacity of the pelagic fishing fleet by approximately 20%, at a time when we already had over-capacity in respect of our own quotas. The new super-trawlers have the capacity to travel further distances and to land their catches abroad. For example, in 2004, 75% of the pelagic mackerel quota was landed abroad. Large fish processing factories in County Donegal, such as those operated by Eurofish, Polarfish, Donegal Co-operative and Burtonport Fishermen's Co-operative, have closed in the past 18 months, due to the Department's mismanagement. Many of the remaining 14 fish processing factories will close due to lack of supplies if the current trend of mismanagement, control and enforcement is allowed to continue. We will become an island which has the richest fishing grounds in Europe but which has no fishing industry.

If the Department and the Minister put half the energy and resources into the fishing negotiations in Brussels as they have put into pushing through this legislation, it would be much more beneficial to the coastal communities and to the fishing industry. It is accepted, even by members of the Government, that our fishing industry was sacrificed during the EU entry negotiations in 1973. The catch by other countries from our waters is conservatively estimated at more than €2 billion per annum. At the Common Fisheries Policy review in 2002, we had an opportunity to renegotiate our position. A half-hearted delegation was led by the then Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Dermot Ahern, who had only recently assumed responsibility for this portfolio. The result was that nothing was gained for the fishing industry.

The same Department now wishes to introduce this draconian legislation to close what is left of our fishing industry and to leave our quotas to be fished by factory ships and super-trawlers, with no benefit to Ireland. The House should be debating the squandering of the country's resources by successive Fianna Fáil Governments, as well as by the Department. The last thing this industry needs is draconian and ill-conceived legislation designed only to cover up the mess created by the Department and the Minister, which is out of line with the norm in other European countries.

For example, ten years ago, more than 40 trawlers were based in Rossaveal Harbour in my constituency. This number has now been reduced to 15. The main fish processing factory there, Iasc Mara Teoranta, employed 400 people at its peak. A total of 30 people are employed there now. That is a scandalous running down of this industry in Ireland. The feeling in Rossaveal is that this will get worse and that the industry is irrelevant to the Government. In the last Fianna Fáil-PD Government, Galway West was represented by the Minister for Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Frank Fahey, who promised €29 million and a deepwater pier for Rossaveal. While I acknowledge that some work was done on the pier, that promise, like many others made by that Minister, was never fulfilled. Rossaveal still awaits its urgently required deepwater pier which will not now be delivered.

Our fishing industry is in an extremely serious downward spiral. It is important in my constituency of Galway West as well as to all communities on the western seaboard. If fishermen continue to be treated in this fashion, they will leave the industry, in a manner similar to what is taking place in the farming sector. Ireland has richer fishing waters than any other EU state. It would be a crime if the Minister's legislation was the last nail in the fishing industry's coffin.

The ever-increasing fishing legislation and complicated regulatory framework has led us to a point whereby fishermen find it difficult to keep up to date with Irish and EU legislation. Regulations dealing with the management of fisheries have become extremely complicated. This Bill will only add to the mountain of legislation. Imagine a 76 page Bill containing more than 70 complicated sections or paragraphs. In effect, Members are being asked to debate and pass legislation, whose true meaning and extent remains unknown to them. The Minister should not leave gaping holes in the Bill to be filled later by regulation.

The sidelining of the Oireachtas is wrong. Placing regulatory power in the hands of this or any other Minister is a dangerous weapon. While this Bill should support the fishing industry, instead it will provide further hardship for the men and women who form the backbone of one of our most important indigenous industries.

As multinationals come and go, we must learn to support those industries which will always stay in Ireland. Across Europe, the majority of member states deal with fisheries offences by way of administrative penalties. Those found guilty of contravening quota notices will face fines nearly €10,000 higher than existing legislation allows. One of the most dramatic increases is for those found in contravention of a licence. Those found guilty of that offence will face fines nearly ten times higher than those in existing legislation. This Bill will raise the fine from €12,697 to €100,000. This Bill will only add to mountains of regulations.

In addition to these fines, there is also the issue of confiscation of catch and gear. Currently, there is automatic confiscation of gear and catch at Circuit Court level. However, this confiscation provision is only automatically applied to Irish vessels coming before the court. Why does the court have discretion on whether to confiscate catch and gear in the case of foreign vessels?

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