Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In view of the limited time available, I will focus on the issue of fisheries and penalty points, to which the Minister referred in his statement. I welcome the Minister's statement on the penalty points regulation, SI 125 of 2016 and the fact that he is requesting the Attorney General to re-examine this offending statutory instrument which has been widely condemned, not least by the fishing industry. It fails to address the significant findings of the High Court and flies in the face of that court's decision on the preceding statutory instrument, SI 3 of 2014. Having known Deputy Coveney both as a Minister and as an MEP, I am surprised he signed this statutory instrument. He knew that, in the case of fishermen who were found guilty, penalty points would be attached before going to court. If the court decided that a fisherman was not guilty, the penalty points would still attach, but that makes no sense at all in common law.

In his reply to the debate, I ask the Minister to explain the legal standing concerning the implementation of the new SI 125 of 2016. He has asked the Attorney General to re-examine the matter in order that no penalty points are applied to an owner's licence until he or she has been found guilty by a court. Clarity is essential. If the statutory instrument is amended, I presume the 21-day period starts there. All parties on this side of the House, including Sinn Féin, have tabled a motion to rescind the statutory instrument Having done a headcount, I know that a majority in this House will support our motion to rescind SI 125 of 2016. We want clarity on this matter. If the Minister's hands are tied and he cannot do this, he should let us know in advance. We will bring this motion before the House within the 21 sitting days, as the legal position provides for.

I realise that the Minister is taking this question very seriously. He met the producer organisations yesterday and he has indicated he is trying to resolve this matter. More important, however, if Deputy Coveney is not the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine next week, I ask him to brief the incoming Minister fully. He should assure us that the new Minister will have an obligation to deal with this in his first days in office. We are here to assist in every possible way. We want to ensure the penalty points system that comes from Europe is implemented fairly. I ask the Minister to reflect on this and examine the system that is used in the UK. I do not have time to talk about Brexit, but a mirror image of the UK system could be applied here.

I thank my colleagues for accommodating me.

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