Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to contribute to this discussion on agriculture. I will focus on two aspects of the general discussion today. The first is GLAS and the difficulty many farmers in my constituency face in qualifying for the scheme. It might be a particular problem for Donegal and privately-owned hill farms and hill farmers. Under the previous two tranches of the scheme, their land was only designated as tier 3 and, as we know, no tier 3 farmers were admitted into GLAS I or II. This is a very difficult problem for farmers. Members have discussed during the debate today how farm incomes have gone down and how much farmers depend on schemes like GLAS to supplement their income to allow them to remain viable and provide for their families. When the Minister devises GLAS III later this year, he should find a way to ensure that people with privately-owned hill land can qualify for either tier 2 or tier 1 so they can participate in GLAS and glean whatever benefits are available from it. It is vitally important that as many farmers as possible, particularly those in disadvantaged areas, can avail of the various agri-environment schemes. This should be given very serious consideration and I intend to raise it further in the House over the coming months as the new Government gets off the ground.

The other aspect I want to talk about, which the Minister touched on in his earlier contribution, is SI 125 of 2016 and the implementation of the European Union penalty points regime in the State. On 1 March 2016, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, signed into law new regulations to replace the previous penalty points scheme. There is huge anger right across fishing communities about the operation of this scheme and the way the Minister went about implementing this new statutory instrument because there was no consultation with fishing organisations. I do not think there was any consultation with the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, on the new regulation before it was signed in to law. During this hiatus period with the caretaker Government, this House is not in a position to address any of the concerns about that or to make any decisions on it. We have 21 sitting days of the Dáil to move a motion on this and all Opposition groups have submitted motions on the Order Paper to rescind this statutory instrument. It is vitally important and should be done without delay.

I note the Minister said that he has asked the Attorney General to look at the proposal to see how it can be married with the criminal prosecution system, but it is not enough. This statutory instrument has to be removed straight away and a proper system devised with proper consultation that actually reflects the needs of the industry. While fishermen may not be entirely happy with the penalty points system, they recognise the need for a system to be there and that it is a requirement under the Common Fisheries Policy that the penalty points are implemented. It is against all fair procedure and natural justice that fishermen cannot use the courts to address cases and concerns about the implementation of the penalty points. The new statutory instrument does not address any of those needs that were identified in the High Court judgment that struck down the old system. If penalty points are added to a fisherman's licence, a prosecution takes place for the same infringement and they are found not guilty, those penalty points actually stay on their licence. That is against any form of natural justice or fair procedure and should not be allowed to be maintained and continue within the State. It cannot be the intended consequence of the European Union rules that this would be the way.

This is a particularly and peculiarly Irish problem and the Minister is proposing an Irish solution to that Irish problem. He should be implementing a fair solution that respects the needs of everybody and also respects the needs for regulation and control within the fishing industry. In August 2015 a Danish vessel had penalty points applied to it when it was deemed to be fishing illegally in the Irish Sea, yet the Danish Government refused to add those penalty points to that vessel in Denmark. It shows how this penalty points system operates right across the European Union. We need to make sure it is fair and that fair procedure is adopted here. I call on the Minister to rescind the statutory instrument immediately.

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