P J Sheehan (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

It is a pity the Minister did not apply these rules to the banks. Had he done so, some of them would not be hiding from Charlie Bird behind a couch in Boston. The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority has two arms but its right hand acts differently from its left hand in dealing with food safety and fishermen. In an appearance before the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the authority stated it would prefer to use the administrative method for both arms.

The Minister should take cognisance of the remarks of the eminent lawyer and senior counsel, Dr. Gerard Hogan, in an appearance before the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to discuss the constitutionality of administrative sanctions which apply under the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006. His advice to the committee at the time was that Ireland is not correct in criminalising its trawler skippers because they might have an additional box or two of monkfish or cod in their catch. How can a trawler owner be responsible for whatever is in a net after two or three hours trawling the Atlantic ocean? In an effort towards conservation, such an owner is supposed to dump the fish back into the sea because he or she could face a criminal charge were the excess catch to be landed. What conservation efforts are served by dumping dead fish into the sea when half the world starves?

The Minister is lost at sea when operating this law of criminalisation. He is criminalising the trawler owners. They have been criminalised for the past ten years and cannot even travel to the United States because they have a criminal indictment against their names.

When will the Minister abide by the advice the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food received from Dr. Gerard Hogan? When will he put in place the necessary legislation to make all fisheries offences administrative rather than criminal in nature? The Minister ought not leave this as his legacy. He has not much time remaining and should do the right thing now.

I refer to all Members on the other side of the House who intend to vote against this Bill tonight. They ought not come near the fishing ports along our coast seeking votes after voting to make our fishermen criminals. The Government should look instead to its criminal banking friends. The largest fish landing port in the country is now Cork Airport which handles imports from France, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and China. The Minister must ensure common sense prevails before it is too late.

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