Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am glad on behalf of the Labour Party to avail of this opportunity to contribute once again to the Island Fisheries (Heritage Licence) Bill. This is a Private Members' Bill from 2017 produced by Deputy Kenny, among others. We in the Labour Party unequivocally supported that Bill on Second Stage, not just in terms of its objectives but in the underlying sentiment around it, and we continue to support it following its scrutiny by the committee, of which I am a member. We now have the report emanating from the joint committee, which has been presented by Deputy Pringle to the House this evening and which pertains to a focused and detailed scrutiny of the Bill. I made my views and those of the Labour Party known in the course of the Second Stage debate in this Chamber prior to the referral of the Bill to the joint committee for detailed scrutiny. I endorse again all of the sentiments I expressed at that stage.

I reiterate that the overall aim and thrust of the Bill is essentially to facilitate the continuation of traditional fishing on Ireland's offshore islands and thereby fundamentally to provide for sustainable fishing communities on the islands for the future. The licence would help to achieve sustainability by reversing the population trend decline that is evident, and it would help sustain many of the offshore islands.

The Government has already indicated, and the Minister, Deputy Creed has reiterated again this evening, that legal the advice is that the Bill is not compatible with EU law or the Common Fisheries Policy and is inoperable in its current manifestation. The Government has also reached once again for use of the money message, which is fast becoming discredited, but the Minister, Deputy Creed, did not refer to it this evening. It is difficult to fathom how it might apply in the context of this Bill. Indeed, the reverse of the request to expend money would be likely to arise as the maintenance of viable and sustainable communities would more than likely generate additional revenue and resources for the Exchequer.

The Government asserts that fishing licences are attached to fishing vessels, not to individuals, and that all of the applications for such fishing licences are decided by the sea fisheries licensing authority, an independent authority, and not by the Minister, which is fair enough. The genesis of the Sinn Féin Bill can be traced directly to recommendation No. 10 of the Joint Sub-Committee on Fisheries report of 2014 on promoting sustainable rural coastal communities that urged the examination of the feasibility of heritage licences to be issued by the Department for island and coastal communities, which would facilitate fishing practices in conjunction with the establishment of a producer organisation to represent the smaller fishery vessels in these specific areas.

I have read the Minister's reasoned response to the Bill, specifically referring to sections 1 and 2 and to the advent of recent policy developments, which it is suggested have a material bearing on the matter set out in the Bill, something he reiterated this evening. The Bill defines small-scale coastal fishing as being carried out by fishing vessels of less than 12 m in length and not using towed gear such as trawls or dredges. Section 2(4) envisages that the licence could not be transferable, but in our scrutiny review, we recommended, correctly, in my view, that provision must be made to enable such licences to be transferred that clearly would be consistent with the current system applicable to sea fishing boat licences. This was one of the Minister's objections, which we have dealt with.

On section 2(6), which deals with regulations underpinning the non-transferable island quota, the committee recommended the allocation of up to 1% of the national quota to be set aside for heritage and traditional fishing that can only be accessed if a person holds a heritage licence and if it is used on board a licensed sea fishing boat. Article 17 of the Common Fisheries Policy enables a member state to formalise support for the islands and ensure a fairer allocation of fishing opportunities. Paragraph 20 of the policy preamble states that small offshore islands that are dependent on fishing should, where appropriate, be especially recognised and supported to enable them to survive and prosper.

The Irish Islands Marine Resource Organisation, IIMRO, gave some figures to me for 2018 , which were obtained independently from the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority and that make for interesting reading. I am not an expert in this area and would know more about inland fisheries, so I defer to my colleagues in the Chamber who are more expert. Ireland's uptake in respect of vessels under 12 m and species type of demersal and pelagic, as Deputy Pringle said, is less than 0.85%. Regulation (EU) No. 1380/2013 provides that small offshore islands dependent on fishing be especially recognised and that preferential access be given to small-scale fisheries. In other words, empower small-scale fishery areas.

Small-scale fishing is less damaging on the marine environment as these traditional boats do not tow trawls that damage the seabed and do not collect or catch huge quantities. This activity could also promote the use of traditional fishing methods that are environmentally sustainable. Fishing families would benefit from higher wages and prices achieved from the new situation. Indeed, families would be more likely to remain in the island communities all year, resulting in a more vibrant community. It would assist in keeping traditional ways of life alive and could lead to an increase in the number of tourists to the area. This would lead to increased spending in the area with a better and more sustainable future. There could be all of the attractions of local heritage in this type of fishing, with heritage boats, currachs, which we all learned about when we were going to school, and an increase in tourism activity. There are a great number of things that would lead to a viable future.

Why is there always in evidence a bureaucratic opposition or resistance to a Bill such as this? Every conceivable objection is dredged up to show incompatibility with this or that regulation or system. We would rather that the Minister adopted a more facilitative or accommodating mode that would enable laudable legislation such as this Bill to be amended so that it can become the law of the land and help out a group of people who are playing a positive and protective role in respect of our heritage, language and a unique way of life.

The excellent research unit in the Oireachtas Library has been of great assistance in helping to identify appropriate international comparisons. Other countries have already gone to the trouble of positively devising policy options to help sustain small-scale fisheries. Many case studies have used some of these policy options to help conserve sustainable local coastal communities. A number of these were detailed in the Grieve report of 2009 on environmental and social criteria for allocating access to fishery resources, three of which are the Koster-Vadero fjord, Sweden, the Shetland Islands off Scotland, and the Lira marine reserve in Spain.

The Koster-Vadero fjord was Sweden's first national marine protected area, and local trawling found a co-existence. It is part of a government-developed co-management initiative for managing Sweden's inshore fisheries. Under the initiative, continued access to northern shrimp and Norway lobster resources was allocated to a limited number of local fisheries. The Shetland Islands, 50 miles of the coast of Scotland have traditionally been one of the most fisheries-dependent communities in Europe. To protect their way of life, they developed a community quota scheme, which included ring-fenced quotas and quota pools. In Spain, the marine reserves are protected by fisheries legislation. Spanish marine reserves are primarily used as a fishery management tool. Their primary goal is the enhancement of fishing resources and maintenance of sustainable, traditional, artisanal fishing in the areas. Over the years, conservation of marine biodiversity in general became one of the core objectives, and the primary focus remains on fisheries and protection of these reserves from users outside the census of traditional artisanal fishermen. The most widely recognised maritime protection areas, MPAs, in Spain, where fishermen are involved in the declaration an implementation of MPAs, are in Lira and Cedeira, both off the Atlantic coast of Galicia.

It can be done. I have watched here in 27 years - starting my 28th year next week - where every bureaucrat in the place is wheeled out. The definition of a bureaucrat is to find a way to block. The definition of somebody who wants to do something is to find a way to accommodate and facilitate. That is our job here. The people in the Irish Islands Marine Resource Organisation, IIMRO, which Deputy Pringle and others are very familiar with, are not fools. This Bill is only about allowing access to a small percentage of relevant national fishing quota species for small island boats under 12 m using untowed fishing gear within the six-mile limit. We have discussed the six-mile limit ad nauseamin the House in respect of the London Agreement. Quota uptake for the year 2018 for under 12 m boats, which make up over 60% of the Irish fleet, stands at 0.85% of the national quota that has been allocated, as Deputy Pringle has stated.

This access to a small amount of the quota will enable the reinstatement of the seasonal fisheries system around the offshore islands that obtained in the past. Fishers will be required to be aboard their own registered vessels while fishing. Boats will be registered island vessels, with appropriate tonnage, kilowatts and polyvalent general licences.

There will be no increase in fishing as a result of the Bill. The Bill is fully compliant with the requirements of the Common Fisheries Policy. That has been confirmed by the European Commission. Why do the Minister's officials contradict this? Why do the Minister, his officials and the European Commission not have a round-table discussion to see if we can make some progress. The administrative allocation of a small amount of relevant quota of the existing national quota will not impose any additional cost on the Exchequer, so forget about the money message. More than 2,000 boats and Irish fishing vessels were registered in 2018. Only 70 boats are on the islands polyvalent general register. I rest my case, as somebody who comes from the bogland, the heartland and the midlands of rural Ireland. I cannot understand why something that I watched on television, read in Peig Sayers book and so on will be lost because of the intransigence of bureaucrats who advise the Minister.

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