Results 12,061-12,080 of 13,214 for speaker:Pat Gallagher

Fishing Industry Development. (16 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: There was an exchange of correspondence between the Department and several stakeholders, both individually and collectively, and the view they take is that it is not a legal entity. The advice that I have received is that it is legal and that we are bound by the March 1964 Voisinage Agreement. I do not know what the best decisive action on my part might be. However, I would have the support...

Fishing Industry Development. (16 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: I will supply it to the Deputy.

Marine Rescue Service. (16 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: I am conscious of the need for a new station house for the coastal unit at Doolin, County Clare and want to see it provided as quickly as possible. The Irish Coast Guard and the Office of Public Works have been doing everything they can to acquire a suitable site in the area, but despite intensive local discussions and negotiations it has not been possible to reach agreement for a site to...

Marine Rescue Service. (16 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: I appreciate the difficult circumstances in which the team in Doolin is working. There are 45 coastal units around the State. The Department has a programme in place to provide new stations or extensions and refurbishments to existing ones. In the past 12 months I have had the pleasure of opening many of them. It is not that Doolin is not high on the priority list. The Deputy is correct as...

Marine Rescue Service. (16 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: Templates exist and it should not take too long to design a station house. If the process got that far, the Deputy would be reasonably satisfied.

Industrial Relations. (16 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: Talks were held recently under the auspices of the Labour Court, involving Irish Ferries Limited, SIPTU and the Seamen's Union of Ireland. The Labour Court has issued its recommendations on the dispute. The Labour Court operates as an industrial relations tribunal, hearing both sides in trade disputes and then issuing recommendations setting out its opinion on the dispute and the terms on...

Industrial Relations. (16 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: One could resolve the difficulty immediately were the parties prepared to accept the court's recommendations of this week, which I do not have. Formally, it is not seven days but, by the same token, everyone knows what the recommendations are. The Taoiseach made it blatantly obvious that the Government does not condone a situation where individuals, irrespective of where they come from, are...

Industrial Relations. (16 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: On advice, yes. We now have an application for reflagging in Cyprus. We put a number of questions to the company in connection with this on the advice of the Office of the Attorney General. We received replies that were not what we requested. I understand that more comprehensive replies have been made as recently as today. Obviously, I must get advice from the Attorney General before I can...

Industrial Relations. (16 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: I have not met the company for a considerable time and certainly not since the announcement of the offer of redundancies.

Industrial Relations. (16 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: Like the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Noel Dempsey, and others, I do not wish to interfere in internal industrial relations or in the industrial relations machinery of the Labour Court which has served us well. I recently met representatives of the unions, such as Mr. David Begg of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, representatives from the Seamen's Union...

Industrial Relations. (16 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: I admire any individual Member who tables his or her own Bill. The Irish ship registration legislation is essentially the Mercantile Marine Act 1955. It is being reviewed and a public consultation process is under way. The details of the process are available on a website. I remind the House and Deputy Broughan in particular that the closing date for submissions is 16 December. The content of...

Fisheries Protection. (16 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has primary responsibility for the implementation in Ireland of Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and wild flora and fauna. That Department received a letter of formal notice from the European Commission dated 5 July 2005 regarding a complaint made to the Commission that Ireland is not managing drift...

Fisheries Protection. (16 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: I will certainly not hide behind any directive but I am advised, because this is an initial step in possible infringement proceedings against us, that the matter remains sub judice and that I cannot therefore comment on the exact details of the response at this time. It may well be that the European Commission is prepared to give that information but, from my experience of it, I doubt that...

Fisheries Protection. (16 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: First, I do not know who it was, whether it was the UK Government, an individual, a group or a company.

Fisheries Protection. (16 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: If it is available. I will have to clear that with the Commission. I am sure Deputy Ryan, above all, would not want me to do anything which might prejudice the outcome. We responded to that complaint in November 2003. We provided the detailed information on the management regime and no response was received from the Commission until July last. They have requested further information and now...

Written Answers — Harbours and Piers: Harbours and Piers (15 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: A proposed new pier project has been under consideration by Bantry Bay Harbour Commissioners for some years. On 16 September 2004, the Minister of State at the time, Deputy Browne, wrote to the chairman of the harbour commissioners and requested that the project be reviewed in terms of its viability, the financial implications for the project due to escalating cost estimates and the risks to...

Written Answers — Search and Rescue Service: Search and Rescue Service (15 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: I propose to take Questions Nos. 305 and 314 together. I am very conscious of the need for a new station house for the coastal unit at Doolin, County Clare and I would like to see it provided as quickly as possible. The Irish Coast Guard, IRCG, of the Department and the Office of Public Works have been doing everything they can to acquire a suitable site in the area, but despite intensive...

Written Answers — Drift Net Licences: Drift Net Licences (15 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: Under the Control of Fishing for Salmon Order 2005 responsibility for the issue of annual commercial salmon fishing licences rests with the regional fisheries boards. The Central Fisheries Board produces an annual catch statistics report which provides comprehensive details and analysis, including a breakdown of the number of drift net licences issued by the regional boards, on the latest...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (15 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: Under the vessel decommissioning scheme to permanently withdraw capacity from the demersal and shell fish sectors of the Irish fishing fleet, grant payments will be made in two stages. Some 50% of the total grant payable in respect of a vessel will be paid when the sea fishing boat licence is surrendered and the fishing vessel is removed from the fishing vessel register. The remaining 50% of...

Written Answers — Inland Fisheries: Inland Fisheries (15 Nov 2005)

Pat Gallagher: As I pointed out to the Deputy in my reply to Question No. 431 of 18 October 2005, under the Fisheries Acts responsibility for enforcement of inland fisheries legislation rests primarily with the central and regional fisheries boards. The matters raised by the Deputy in his previous question are therefore an operational matter for the Southern Regional Fisheries Board to address. I am advised...