Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

Amendment No. 23 is newly introduced on Report Stage and I have not had time to read it in detail. I do not have great difficulty with the principles upon which it is based, particularly the concept of inclusiveness and the importance of maintaining and conserving fishing stocks. These are good ideas. I do not want to rake over old coals but it is past time for people in the fishing industry to accept stocks are limited and must be divided among those authorised to exploit them. A collective and co-operative spirit which ensures the relevant authorities can take action against those who step out of line is welcome. I support this type of approach to managing our fishery stocks.

However, Ireland has always treated quotas as a public asset, something extremely important to the country. Deputy Broughan mentioned Scotland where quotas were given out to fisheries organisations to manage. This has worked reasonably well in many cases but if one looks behind the outer facade, one discovers that quotas there are coming increasingly within the ownership of private individuals. Under such a system, they become private property and are traded like any other goods. This is not a good idea from the point of view of maintaining them as a public asset for the benefit of everybody.

In moving in the direction of Deputy Perry's amendment, I am concerned that we could end up with the same situation here whereby the major players would get more control and the minor players would be squeezed. In the absence of effective policing and controls, such an eventuality is possible even under the current system. However, apart from the economic benefit to the individuals concerned and to their local communities, there is a benefit in the way we currently divide out the system in that we try to facilitate the smaller players as much as we can. Although they get a greater share, the quota is not taken over completely by the larger vessels.

I am sure Members are aware of many instances where an idea involving co-operation in some sphere seems good but it becomes clear that a small number grow increasingly powerful and it is difficult to defend the rights of the small player. Situations can arise where individuals make significant profit from a public asset and squeeze out weaker elements. In this context, I cannot support Deputy Perry's amendment, worthy as its aims may be. I advise caution in this regard. As Deputy Eamon Ryan said, it would need to be teased out substantially more than is possible in the ten or 15 minutes afforded on Report Stage.

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