Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will take do happily.

In 2014 the sub-committee on fisheries examined the challenges in coastal and island fisheries. In its report, Promoting Sustainable Rural Coastal and Island Communities, 2014, the sub-committee recommended that the Government examine the feasibility of issuing heritage licences by the Department for rural coastal and island fishing communities. That was recommendation No. 10. Following on from that recommendation, the Island Fisheries (Heritage Licence) Bill 2017 was initiated in Dáil Éireann by Deputies Ferris, Martin Kenny and Doherty on 12 July 2017. The Bill was read a Second Time on 1 February 2018 and referred to the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine. As part of its work programme, the committee decided to undertake detailed scrutiny of the Bill, the objective of which is to provide a heritage licence for fishermen based on the islands who use traditional and/or small-sized methods for fishing in order that they may fish inshore waters. This will support island communities through the provision of an income stream from fishing.

One specific action is sought, namely, a small allocation of quota to be set aside for fishermen resident on offshore islands. It is envisaged that the allocation would be in the region of 0.5% to 1% of the overall quota for the country. The proposed mechanism is a heritage licence which would entitle the holder to access the additional quota. To hold a heritage licence, one must already be licensed to fish as per the current regulations.

At its meeting on 17 April 2018 the committee decided to seek a number of submissions from interested parties and held public hearings on 1 May and 12 June 2018 to explore the relevant issues and possible solutions. During the hearings the committee engaged with the sponsors of the Bill, departmental officials, seven fishing organisations and academics. I thank all those who appeared before the committee and submitted evidence for their valuable insight and engagement on the topic.

I will now walk through some specific issues and key recommendations made in the report. In concluding its detailed scrutiny of the Island Fisheries (Heritage Licence) Bill the committee recommended that consideration be given to renaming the proposed heritage licence. It suggests naming the instrument a heritage fishing opportunity licence, HFOL, may be more appropriate.

The committee also recommended that an allocation of 0.5% to 1% of the national quota be set aside for heritage and traditional fishing which would only be accessed through holding a HFOL and that consideration be given to further detail regarding appeal procedures, review processes and provision for offences, sanctions and enforcement powers. These points may be addressed by incorporating these aspects of the HFOL into the current licensing system, recognising that it as an additional instrument intended to allow access to the additional quota.

Further recommendations are, noting recommendation No. 10 of the 2014 report of the sub-committee on fisheries, that the HFOL be introduced for island communities on a pilot basis; that consideration be given to expanding the scope of the Bill to include certain coastal communities that experience particular disadvantages; and that the requirement for a vessel to be licensed and entered in the polyvalent register be continued. The latter requirement protects the integrity of the register and the safety of the fleet.

It was also recommended that provision be made for the requirements related to track record to be set aside for quotas allocated under the HFOL but that similar requirements for ordinary quota remain in place; and that provision be made to allow for the transfer of the right to avail of or benefit from a HFOL between a number of named beneficiaries who were fishers who used the same licensed vessel.

The committee considered four categories of policy implications in the report: environmental, economic, social and legal. It recommends that the current system for allocating quota be reviewed and evaluated in terms of the economic benefit to every fisher with a registered and licensed vessel. In particular, the committee believes a system with an imbalance in quota allocation must be avoided. It recommends that consideration be given to putting a structure in place to ensure specific issues may be addressed at a higher level and that the need for consensus on issues at regional inland fisheries forums level be reviewed to account for island-specific issues. It also recommends that consideration be given to a cross-sectoral study of island communities in order to understand the overall losses to island communities, not just in terms of population and economic opportunity but also in terms of cultural impacts and opportunities for sectors such as tourism and infrastructure.

The committee acknowledges that the Bill has significant potential to improve the lives of island fishers and that there is scope for expansion to coastal fishers in extremely disadvantaged coastal regions. I refer to rural coastal fishers. The committee also acknowledges that the traditional fishing sector has less of an impact on the marine environment and that supporting it should be encouraged. However, the Bill should have due regard to the limits set by quotas under the CFP and suggests additional quota allocations for islanders pursuant to existing initiatives be explored.

The committee believes its recommendations provide a pathway for aligning the Bill with the overall policy objectives for fisheries at European and national level, as well as making some suggestions on how the wider policy framework for fisheries in Ireland can be improved to provide additional support for island fishers. However, some wider questions remain about the method of allocation of quota and the requirements to be met in terms of licensing and capacity.

6 o’clock

The committee notes that the Department held a public consultation in April 2018 on trawling activities inside the six-nautical mile limit. The committee received correspondence from the Minister in January 2019 informing the committee that following this process all trawling activity by vessels over 18 m inside the six-nautical mile limit will end from the beginning of 2022.

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