Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One of the most important outcomes of the Council's latest meeting related to the pig sector. The sector has reduced dramatically in recent decades with only 1,500 holdings remaining last year. Even the nature of pig farming has changed, as it has become a much more intensive operation. IFA pig prices are currently more than 20 cent per kg below the cost of production, meaning a loss to the average pig farmer of €5,000 per week. In response to a disastrous price year, pig farmers were promised a portion of the aid package announced by the Commission in September 2015. This promise, however, remains undelivered. The delay is increasing the significant hardship being experienced by these farmers and I call on the Minister to take immediate and urgent action to ensure these payments are processed without further delay.

I also welcome the opportunity to address the fisheries element of the Council. As important as agriculture is to our economy, I cannot help but feel that fisheries will always be the poor relative in such a configuration. There is no telling how much longer the Minister, Deputy Coveney, will represent Ireland at these meetings but he seems determined to go out on the offensive against our fishermen to the very end. By signing SI 125 of 2016, he has ridden roughshod over the rights of fishermen and, indeed, over the High Court.

Fishermen are used to Governments introducing new regulations and blaming the EU, but it is a new low for a Government that was kicked out of power to bring in an instrument and refuse to allow any debate on it. This instrument was signed into law by the Minister on 1 March while some count centres were still counting the votes in the general election. It was brought in because the previous statutory instrument was struck down by the High Court, which was a vindication of what the fishermen were saying. My Sinn Féin colleagues and I have tabled a motion annulling the instrument and I hope the Dáil can do its job and permit time for the motion to be taken. It is one of the issues I raised this morning. We have an obligation in that regard because a statutory instrument can be annulled by either House of the Oireachtas within 28 sitting days by a simple majority vote. I ask that this motion be tabled for the next sitting of the Dáil to facilitate a transparent debate. If the Dáil wishes to introduce this type of penalty system for our fishermen, so be it, but if it decides otherwise, we should annul it.

Fishermen from Killybegs, the Rosses and other areas in Donegal have contacted me expressing their anger at what they see as the criminalisation of their livelihoods, and it strikes me as unprecedented for a statutory instrument to be introduced which flies in the face of not one but two High Court judgments. The High Court ruled that the provisions of a penalty point system for fishermen who engage in illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing were unconstitutional and therefore not fit for purpose. The Minister had to revoke the 2014 statutory instrument because the courts had struck it down. However, without any reference to the House, he has introduced a statutory instrument to bring in these regulations. Notwithstanding all we will hear about political reform in the weeks and months ahead, the new statutory instrument for which the Minister, Deputy Coveney, is responsible proceeded without any consultation with the industry or Opposition spokespersons and without any involvement by Oireachtas committees or other stakeholders. There are major questions about the legality of an instrument which states that regardless of the outcome of criminal proceedings and the acquittal of a fisherman in a court of law, penalty points will still be assigned to his or her licence. This instrument must be the subject of a full debate and a vote to annul it. Time is required for real discussion on how we treat our fishermen. I am calling for a stop to this process and the annulment of the statutory instrument. I am asking the Minister to agree to talk to the fishermen, to listen to the outcome and to suspend, annul or revoke the instrument, or at least allow us to debate the issue so that the Parliament can decide if it is the right course of action. It sticks in the craw of fishermen. People have been asking me-----

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