Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I rise on behalf of the Labour Party to support the amendment. Reference has been made to the former Deputy and former Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Pat the Cope Gallagher, who holds the respect of every single person in this House, both past and present. He spoke with passion in respect of Statutory Instrument 89 of 2019. He argued that natural justice must be allowed to occur and that common law rights should be upheld. What is at issue in this group of amendments is the very principle espoused by former Deputy Gallagher, who represented a coastal community, who was very close to the fishing sector for so many years and who knew it intimately. He served as a guide to many of us who were not so well versed in matters relating to the sector.

We are supporting these amendments, quite frankly, because we believe that the long-established principle in common law of beyond reasonable doubt should be inculcated into this legislation. It is as simple as that. Other speakers before me and the proposers of the amendment have articulated that viewpoint very well.

We are debating this legislation in the context of the recent prospect of Russian naval exercises taking place within our exclusive economic zone. The prospect of those exercises highlighted and exposed the weaknesses in our Defence Forces in terms of fisheries patrols and the weaknesses inherent in our own fisheries sector. The idea that there would be, just yesterday, a European Fisheries Control Agency, EFCA, vessel docked in Cobh is anathema to those of us who have great respect for our Defence Forces and specifically for our navy. We now know that the capacity of the navy to patrol our own waters is just not there. The timing of this legislation is all wrong. When I think of the diplomatic win, a win that was not garnered by the Government or any Department of State but by fishers who took on the might of an empire, I am reminded of the Skibbereen Eagletaking on the might of the Tsar of Russia. There was a certain symbolism in that, in the way that people like Patrick Murphy and Brendan Byrne took on the might of the Russian navy. It made me proud to be Irish, that these humble people were defending not only the rights of fishers but also defending the environment and the sustainability of the sector that they represent.

They were representing families and individuals who seek to ply their trade, make that catch and make the few shillings to keep life and soul together. It was a fantastic example of Samson and Goliath. The Minister is proposing legislation that seeks to further trammel the rights of those very same people.

If I was advising the Minister, with the Minister himself having taken such a strident view on this very legislation when he was in opposition, I would ask him to roll back a little on it, to take further counsel and not to go down this route in regard to the legislation. This is precisely because, as was articulated in pre-legislative scrutiny, the issue of reasonable doubt, which is a concept that prevails in the common law system, is not present here. While supporting these amendments, I fear we are going to criminalise further ordinary men and women. It is the State leaning too heavily on ordinary men and women. The Minister needs to revise his position on this.

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