Brendan Kenneally (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

The problem is that this Bill is not sufficiently specific. One of the problems I envisage is similar to what Deputy Dooley just mentioned. My concern has always been for the smaller fishermen. I do not mean smaller in stature, but in fishing capability. The bigger operators out at sea are the people who have always done the damage. I am afraid the Bill as drafted will not be enough of a deterrent to the fishermen who are causing problems for fishery stocks, and all of us have an idea who they are. They should not get off the hook in any way and I believe that might happen with this legislation, well-intentioned as it is. It is the other fishermen whose concerns must be addressed.

I did not have a great deal of time to prepare for this debate but I saw some figures in an EU report from a number of years ago about average fines. The average fine for fishing without a licence in Spain was €1,463, while in Ireland it was €21,400. The joint committee dealing with communications, the marine and natural resources of the last Dáil held much debate on this issue. One of the contributors to that debate stated that the average fine for a log book offence in Denmark was €393 while in Ireland it was €8,455. The average fine in the UK for fishing for species subject to prohibition was €2,328, while in Ireland it was €23,125. It is important to point out that while the Spanish and UK vessels are fishing side by side in the same waters with our fishing vessels, different penalties are being imposed for identical offences. Unfortunately, the law is not equal across all EU fishing nations and I believe that, as a consequence of the legislation we passed previously, the imbalance might now be greater. Ireland is the only maritime country in the EU to rely solely on criminal sanctions. I believe the UK was the last of the other countries to introduce administrative sanctions.

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