Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have a question about the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill. As the Taoiseach knows, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Michael Creed, laid a statutory instrument before the House on Easter Monday to allow penalty points to be applied to fishing vessel owners who engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. While we all agree with having a proper and fair regime in that regard, given the fate of previous statutory instruments that were proved to be unconstitutional, the Minister indicated that he would not do this by statutory instrument but rather by primary legislation and that he would consult other parties on it. He has not consulted other parties. My party has a particular difficulty with the statutory instrument. My question is why is the Government introducing a statutory instrument. The statutory instrument and the appeals process are unfair. Will the Government revert to its original position that it would introduce primary legislation to govern this issue, as it would allow for proper transparency and fairness for all concerned?

See this speech in context