Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I know he is genuine in this regard as we have previously discussed his connection with the fishing industry.

Everyone wants more quota. Whether it is a whitefish boat, a mackerel boat or any other part of the quota fleet here in Ireland, everyone wants more quota. The quota for Ireland this year is more valuable than it has ever been at over €250 million, and it was something similar last year.

I will always try to maximise the quota opportunities for Irish fishermen. I will always talk this industry up and work with it to maximise employment and income opportunities for fishermen. However, I will not accept that because people are frustrated at a lack of quota, they can break the rules. Breaking the rules means that other people lose out. To be consistent with European law, the primary responsibility in terms of enforcement lies with the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, which is an independent law enforcement agency of the State. I do not get involved in its day-to-day operations, nor should I. It has a difficult job to do but its job is to provide a level playing field for everybody. If one boat, or two or six boats, are overfishing deliberately, that is not a victimless crime. It has an impact on others who are law-abiding and who are catching according to the quotas allocated to them when less quota is allocated the following month, because catches outside of quota count towards the calculation of the quotas allocated on a monthly basis, in a process in which the industry is involved. If we are unable to comply with the rules we negotiated last year, this also fundamentally undermines my position in December when I am trying to negotiate better quotas and improved total allowable catch, TAC, for fishing fleets around the coast.

The company at the centre of the case raised by the Deputy unfortunately has a history of non-compliance. Repeated infringements have arisen around quota, log books and sales regulations. There are some 54 files awaiting hearing before Irish courts. In 2013, the SFPA took the exceptional step of directing all of this company's vessels to port as a reaction to persistent non-compliance. Following a solemn undertaking by the company directors after a meeting I had with them to work within the requirements of the law, the company was allowed to resume fishing. However, less than a week later the infringements recommenced, and there have been six infringements detected on this company's vessels since the beginning of this year. SFPA officers have endured verbal abuse on an ongoing basis from the company's employees and directors in some cases and also, I am sorry to hear, from some public representatives simply for implementing EU and national law involving quota allocations recommended by the industry itself on a monthly basis.

The SFPA has an obligation under EU rules to link historical non-compliance with current levels of inspection. In other words, a risk assessment of boats is carried out in terms of likelihood of breaking the rules. The more infringements a boat has had in the past, the more inspections it will get in the future, until it proves that it is compliant over time. That is not a voluntary policy option for the SFPA. It is a requirement under EU rules.

There is a problem in Kilmore Quay. It is a great little town that relies on fishing. The companies involved here employ many people and they are a very valuable contributor to the economy in the south east, but we must apply the rules to everybody equally. The policing authority that ensures there is a fair playing field for every fisherman out there must apply the rules according to EU regulations. That means that the more infringements boats have had in the past, the more inspections they will get in the future in the medium term until the number of infringements changes. There is an onus here on everybody, and particularly on public representatives from all political parties, to be consistent in ensuring that we are implementing the rules fairly, so that everybody complies with the same rules. We cannot allow some people to do what they want because of frustrations with a lack of quota. That is what has happened here. I strongly support the SFPA in its efforts to ensure that everybody gets fair treatment. I want to encourage anybody who is breaking the rules to stop doing so because they are fundamentally undermining the industry when that happens.

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