Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Those vessels will not land in Irish ports, they will land in Holland, and the Government's only option is to hope that the Dutch authorities will accurately report what they have caught. Some of this company's vessels have been exposed for fishing illegally in recent years, catching fish to order and falsifying logbooks in order to under-declare their catches. Since January this year there has been a ban on discards for the pelagic fishery, meaning that those vessels can no longer dump fish at sea for which they do not have quota. The Lithuanian factory trawler, MFV Margiris, only has a quota for horse mackerel in Irish waters, yet from talking to fishermen I know that it is practically impossible at this time of year to catch only horse mackerel when fishing off the west coast. One catches mackerel as well at the same time. Either they are dumping the mackerel at sea, which is illegal, or they are processing them on board and keeping them, which is also illegal.

If that was not bad enough, as I speak, a County Donegal fisherman is watching from his home as these vessels tow away his crab pots and take away his livelihood from him and his family. Will the Tánaiste immediately order the Naval Service to intervene to save this fisherman's livelihood and allow him to be able to maintain an income for his family? I have been in contact with the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority and because of the weather conditions off the west coast, it has stated it is unsafe to board these vessels to inspect them at sea. Will the Tánaiste order these vessels to a safe harbour now in order that they can be inspected by Irish authorities?

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