Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

At that time everything was legal. A person could sell them off the dock but not now. I fully accept the bona fides of Fine Gael in seeking to promote this Bill but I am not at all convinced it will have the desired effect. It is ill conceived and deficient in many respects. The thrust of the proposal is to provide adequate conservation measures for fish stocks. It goes without saying that we all recognise the singular value of our fishing industry and the importance of safeguarding the livelihood of all who depend on it. We have to provide robust support for the industry and ensure all those involved in it are protected from the various problems and challenges it faces. A sustainable, vibrant industry is essential and if we are to promote the industry, we must provide an environment in which the interests of fishermen are paramount. We must ensure the economic spin-offs from a successful commercial industry are harnessed properly into the country and the hinterlands in which fishermen operate.

Employment in our fishing fleet must be the primary consideration and employment in fish handling and fish processing must be sustained. There are several ancillary services which are necessary to the fishing industry and all these services are based in the local coastal communities, providing further work opportunities for local people. All have a valuable role to play in contributing to the worth and the prosperity of the local economy.

The Government is passionate and determined in its efforts to support the fishing industry. It is a traditional way of life for many families and its contribution to the economy is immense in terms of jobs, both in fishing itself and in the local economy it serves. For many people in these costal regions fishing may be the only viable source of income. It is imperative, therefore, that we are active and sincere in our endeavours to continue to support all those activities which generate real income for families.

The sea fisheries sector in this country is almost solely reliant on healthy fish stocks within its 200-mile exclusive fisheries zone. Unfortunately, we know only too well that the levels of such stocks are at an unprecedentedly low level. This is alarming. It is clear that decisive corrective action is required to stem this worrying decline and reverse it as quickly as possible. We have to restore those stocks and it is only by introducing focused, effective measures that we can arrest the trend in diminishing numbers and ensure high levels of healthy stocks are maintained into the future.

This Bill is deficient in its attempt to achieve this imperative of rebuilding stocks. It may well be that this measure would have the contrary effect and would succeed only in encouraging the incidence of illegal fishing. The obvious result of this would be to drive down the biomass of fish stocks even further. This would lead inevitably to a virtual collapse of many of the key commercial stocks around the coast. We must avoid this happening as this would be the death knell for fishermen and their families. It would be catastrophic for that community.

Two effects of this Bill are completely undesirable and would fail abysmally in protecting fish stocks. This Bill could introduce low fines or penalties for significant offences. I do not believe this is proportionate. It would not represent an adequate deterrent and might serve only to promote various forms of illegal activity in the industry. This is neither realistic nor acceptable. The Bill could introduce a new system for the administration of minor errors which, as I understand it, are currently the subject of warnings. This provision would represent nothing more than an unnecessary distraction and would place an increased burden on scarce resources. There are more than enough demands on these limited resources at present. We cannot afford to be wasteful and we have a duty to maximise the effect of these resources. To that end, our sensible priority should be to target the resources towards identifying the big offenders and prosecuting them in due course.

One of the most burning issues in the fishing industry has been how and at what level the various sanctions should be applied. This has been even more topical since the enactment of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act in 2006. I am not convinced the Bill under discussion will provide any type of viable or effective arrangement for the control of sea fisheries. On close examination, it falls far short of achieving anything of the sort. Effectively, this Bill would impose a regime which would apply to the fishing activity of all fleets in Ireland's 200 mile exclusive fisheries zone. If it were to be applied to the offences which are currently identified in Irish law, it would remove the existing deterrent measures which protect against illegal fishing. There is also a very real and serious risk that it would promote increased illegal landings and all manner of other illegal practices by all fishing vessels from all EU member states and the third countries operating in the rich and fertile fishing grounds inside Ireland's zone.

This Bill fails to provide the very necessary measures to regulate fishing activity in any appropriate way. It certainly would not give any reasonable level of confidence that illegal fishing would not be rewarded. A new tier or layer would have to be created if we were to adopt this Bill. These are not prosecuted at present under the relevant legislation. This would be cumbersome and it would be expensive. The Fine Gael Bill does not deserve our support. It does not address illegal sea fishing effectively and instead could encourage a culture of non-compliance which is something we must avoid at all costs.

Any culture of non-compliance where anyone detected can be confident that any penalties which can attract are lower than the possible financial benefit from their illegal activity is clearly inappropriate and almost derisory. I for one cannot support that thrust.

The seafood industry in Ireland makes an immense contribution to our national economy. In the context of output, employment and exports, it generates over 11,000 jobs in rural coastal regions and it is estimated that the industry contributed a total of €780 million to the economy overall in 2008. Almost 60% of the employment and added value created in the marine sector is located outside the most developed regions of this country which are totally dependent on the conditions of fish stock in the waters around the country. It is the health of these stocks which determines, in the long run, the economic viability of our fleet and the secure supply of raw material to all our seafood processors.

I accept, and have said it at several committee meetings, that it is wrong that fishermen should be targeted as criminals if they are caught. It is one good issue in this Bill which was raised by Deputy Breen. It should be examined because the issue of any fishing family which goes about its daily life and is then caught, prosecuted and labelled as criminal is serious. I come from Kilkenny.

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