Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In the first instance, I know this must be very distressing for the four families involved. I acknowledge that in terms of the incident described by the Deputies. Obviously, I know this probably straddles a few Departments in terms of defence and foreign affairs.

It is, however, down as being a matter for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

The Irish Naval Service is aware of the incident in question. It has issued a statement that its vessel, the LÉ Róisín, detained a Spanish-registered fishing vessel approximately 95 nautical miles south of Mizen Head. The statement notes that the detention was in respect of alleged breaches of fishing regulations. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has no direct knowledge of the incident, nor would it be appropriate for him to have any involvement directly in the matter.

For the record, the strict legal position is that the monitoring and control of fishing vessels within Ireland's fisheries zones are matters for the Irish control authorities. Under the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006, all operational issues of this nature are matters exclusively for the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, and the Naval Service. The Minister is expressly precluded from getting involved in operational matters such as this. As the regulator, the SFPA is responsible for monitoring and enforcing compliance with the EU's Common Fisheries Policy, CFP, and ensuring equality and fairness for all fishers and the continuing sustainability of Ireland's marine resources. The authority electronically monitors all vessels operating within the Irish exclusive economic zone, EEZ, with the support of the Naval Service, which conducts at-sea fisheries inspections. Where instances of non-compliance are found by control authorities, prosecutions may follow, as would any incident of non-compliance with Irish law. Under the CFP, EU fishing fleets are given equal access to EU waters and fishing grounds, subject to allocated fish quotas and the derogations set down in respect of waters up to 12 nautical miles from baselines. Fishing vessels, irrespective of size, must comply with the rules of the CFP, including rules on access and technical rules for fishing and catch reporting.

Regarding access to Ireland's coastal waters, access inside our 6 nautical miles zone is restricted to Irish fishing vessels and reciprocal fishing vessels under the voisinagearrangements between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Those arrangements allow Northern Ireland vessels to fish within the 0 to 6 nautical miles zone of Ireland. In the 6 to 12 nautical miles zone, access is restricted as set down in European Council Regulation No. 1380/2013. Spanish fishing vessels do not have any access to Ireland's 6 to 12 nautical miles zone. A derogation for limiting access to the 6 to 12 nautical miles zones under the CFP will be reviewed as part of an upcoming review of the functioning of the CFP under which the Commission must report to the European Parliament and Council by the end of 2022. However, the Minister has advised that he does not expect the Commission report to recommend that the derogation restricting fishing vessels to the 12 nautical miles zones of member states will be ended.

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