Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The purpose of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Bill is to consolidate and update 17 items of existing inland fisheries legislation, which is cumbersome, to say the least. It will bring these together in a single statute and will provide for the establishment of a new national fisheries authority. An independent review of inland fisheries is being carried out by an interdepartmental committee, chaired by the Department of Finance. I do not believe the work is finished but the intention was to conclude that work, get agreement on the national fisheries authority and deal with the legislation in mid-year. It will probably be later rather than earlier in 2008.

The Petroleum Exploration and Extraction (Safety) Bill will implement a key finding of the safety studies carried out on the Corrib onshore pipeline. The legislation is due next year.

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