Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this Adjournment debate in the House. As it is my first engagement with the Minister officially here in the House, I congratulate him on his appointment and wish him well in his work within the Department.

It is timely that this Adjournment debate has been taken today given the announcement earlier today by the Minister that there have been moves on SI 125 of 2016 relating to court cases. The Minister outlined that the statutory instrument will be amended to facilitate the sequential application of EU points in conjunction with the prosecution process.

It is a very welcome intervention by the Department and a confirmation that the system was not fit for purpose initially. It will go a long way towards satisfying many of the requirements of fishermen and fishing communities to ensure the points system works properly.

The points system was introduced in 2014 as a statutory instrument, which was struck down in the courts here in January or February. At that time, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine debated the statutory instrument and identified many of the problems recognised by the courts. The points system could have been made much more robust to meet the requirements. Although nobody likes points to be implemented, fishing communities recognise the need for a points system and that it will be in operation. The key is to ensure it operates fairly for everybody involved, it is clear and concise and everybody knows what is involved and how it will work in the future. It has potentially very serious implications for the livelihoods of fishermen and the viability of fishing businesses if points can be attached in a way that is not totally clear and understandable to everybody involved. The principle that, if a prosecution takes place and the courts decide no offence happened, the points are not assigned is a very welcome and positive contribution.

There remain some problems with the statutory instrument and how it has been established. Based on consultations I have had on the court case and the workings of the new statutory instrument, it could still be potentially problematic. A fishing licence might have points applied without being followed by a prosecution. In this case, the points might stand and the statutory instrument might lead to complications in that, if there is no court case, there is no chance of the points being rescinded in the event that there is no conviction. If this happens, there could be recourse to the courts.

In the judgment in one of the cases in February, the judge pointed out that the statutory instrument and system, as it stood then, "do not require the Minister to ignore established systems for independent adjudication and recourse to the courts in such matters". There is concern that the 2016 statutory instrument does not include the full recourse to the courts. If it is the case that points will never be assigned where there is no prosecution, maybe it will not arise. Maybe the Minister of State could clarify this and we could put the situation to bed if there is no possibility it could happen.

It is very important the Department is recognising this and I commend the Minister of State on recognising the problems in the system and finding a solution that can work in everybody's favour. There was a very strong feeling among fishing communities that they were being treated differently from everybody else. This has been a common theme through all the fishing legislation, such as the 2006 Act, which criminalised people, whereas across the rest of Europe, the offences were administrative. The feeling must be repaired and this could be a positive step along the road.

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