Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

I move amendment No. 5:

In page 6, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following:

"(2) In granting licences the Commission must recognise existing and historic rights of tenure for current long-standing operators on Lough Foyle. The allocation of such licences on Lough Foyle should follow precedent established at Wexford Harbour.".

In respect of aquaculture licences, the amendment seeks to provide that in granting them, the commission must recognise existing and historic rights of tenure for current long-standing operators on Lough Foyle and that the allocation of such licences should follow the precedent established at Wexford Harbour. As I mentioned on Committee Stage the stakeholders believe that this section of the Bill is badly framed and is based on a false premise. The experience of Wexford Harbour in this regard should provide the way forward for the legislation on Lough Foyle. In Wexford a very substantial unlicensed fishery developed over many years and operators in the area continued the successful development there, as in the Foyle, without a legislative regime. There were some inherent problems with boundaries and so on, but stakeholders in the south east seemed to be able to resolve these on a local basis. When the Department eventually introduced a licensing regime, as is proposed for Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough in this legislation, the status quo on the sites of existing operators was accepted. On meeting some of the fishermen from the area I recall them referring to one of the historic fisheries off Redcastle, for example, where there was a short season where people had operated for perhaps, 15 or 20 years. A sustainable type of aquaculture has developed in the Foyle, and in some ways is a very interesting model, as I mentioned on Committee Stage. By comparisons with other forms of aquaculture it seems to be very sustainable environmentally. It was felt that a similar time period and methodology to allow for existing issues relating to site boundaries, area destinations etc. to be resolved was put in place in Wexford. When the process was completed and the legislation passed, the successful status quo there served as a useful model.

As I mentioned earlier, the Foyle fishery has been built up with the investment of much blood, sweat and tears from the people of Inishowen. On the exploitation of that fishery, there are some impressive operators and decent employers who presented a very strong case here in the Oireachtas for Opposition spokespersons and their own local Deputies as well as for the Minister of State. I believe this is a reasonable amendment that seeks to give proper standing in this legislation to existing and historic rights of tenure. The Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, responded the last day on Committee Stage to the effect that this was a public fishery and there could be no recognition of the status quo. The historic standing provided that people operated among themselves but this could not be established on a legislative basis, he said. However, as I rightly pointed out, and as my colleague, Deputy Perry has mentioned, there is at least one other precedent on the Irish coastline where this has happened. We know that a large section of the lough has been mapped, where people were able to operate with ease outside Redcastle and other areas, in agreement.

I again urge the Minister of State to give some consideration to this argument. Even if he does not accept this amendment he could still, even at this late stage of the night, frame one of his own which would provide security and ease people's worries. My colleague mentioned a very important issue about the seed management advisory committee and the whole situation with UK operators chasing our scarce seed resources in Lough Foyle. I asked on Committee Stage whether this was an issue we could address. We are moving to some extent into uncharted waters in that these are the two great waterways we share with our sister jurisdiction, which all Members of the House hope will be a single jurisdiction in time to come. We are all citizens and people of this country on both sides. We have concerns about operators from other jurisdictions who did not look after their own resources sufficiently well. It is reminiscent of the discussion we had about the white fish regime in the north-east Atlantic. Our first duty should be to protect our people. The concerns put to us by the stakeholders should be reflected back to the Minister of State's colleagues in Belfast in the North-South Ministerial Council. We should come up with some system which would ensure the protection of the seed resources of our operators in the Republic.

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