Results 1-20 of 51 for sfpa speaker:Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Weighing of Fisheries Products: Discussion (18 May 2022)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...Mr. Hayes not understand why it is difficult for this committee to comprehend why after all those years when landings through the North were taking place - thousands every year since 1983 while the SFPA has been existence as a regulator since 2006 - it is only now in this high-profile scenario where processors have challenged the SFPA that the SFPA is ruling on permits. Perhaps it has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jun 2021)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: .... The industry had no ability to defend itself. As far as I know, there has been one conviction - one - in a court of law that followed the NSAI taking that prosecution, none as a result of the SFPA, despite it being a very strong regulator, arguably the strongest in Europe. There was only one prosecution, yet it led to allegations of an industry that was criminal in its intent. I put...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry: Discussion (11 May 2021)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...the fish go over is state of the art. It is virtually impossible to tamper with it. It is sealed. There is closed-circuit television. The weighing system is monitored round the clock by the SFPA. Therefore, the SFPA has its eyes on it. It is a National Standards Authority of Ireland, NSAI, weighing system. That authority can inspect it at any time. That is the front-of-house...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Weighing of Fisheries Products: Discussion (18 May 2022)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I did not ask about that. Can the SFPA confirm whether Ireland is the most compliant in the EU? Surely the SFPA must know that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Weighing of Fisheries Products: Discussion (18 May 2022)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Has the SFPA taken control of the system? Has the SFPA done the natural thing?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Weighing of Fisheries Products: Discussion (18 May 2022)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: That is not the question I asked. I asked how many times the SFPA has withdrawn the permit from an operator for landings that came through the North. The SFPA has been in existence since 2006.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Weighing of Fisheries Products: Discussion (18 May 2022)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I will ask my question again. Did the SFPA articulate, prior this matter, unfortunately, going to the High Court, that the difficulty was that the matter was in the control of the industry? These were the concerns of the SFPA before the case went to the High Court. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Weighing of Fisheries Products: Discussion (18 May 2022)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I have here a copy of correspondence sent to Mr. Hayes on 5 May from the SFPA consultative committee, which exists under the same legislation as the SFPA. It has grave concerns about how this has been handled and the lack of consultation with it. It asks, if the ownership of the flow scales on the pier in Killybegs is transferred to systems not operated or owned by the industry, whether the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jun 2021)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...and a range of people who are interested in the marine. I have been a spokesperson for my own party on fisheries and the marine for about a year and I have engaged extensively, including with the SFPA, to try to get the wider perspectives. I find the situation astonishing and I really want to reiterate this point. The SFPA has increased its budget, increased its staff and increased its...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry: Discussion (11 May 2021)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I thank Dr. Steele. Apparently, the European Commission audit that was made available to the SFPA and the Government in 2018 covers the period from 2012 to early 2015. This audit was presented to the SFPA, which then chose to carry out an administrative inquiry. I am not sure about the SFPA's administrative inquiry, but the audit has been leaked to a range of national media. There have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Weighing of Fisheries Products: Discussion (18 May 2022)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...the EU. Mr. Hayes does not know if that is true but I believe it to be the case. I have outlined the level of oversight to which the industry is subjected yet we face the following debacle. The SFPA is in negotiations with the industry on the pier side flow-scale system and if these negotiations or agreements break down, then the matter goes to the High Court. On 4 June 2021, Mr....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Weighing of Fisheries Products: Discussion (18 May 2022)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...understanding is the witnesses' objection is that this weighing system is owned by the industry. It went to court and the judge made a clear decision that the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, is acting ultra viresin how it is dealing with this. Suddenly, the European Commission started to share the authority's concerns. It has been said publicly in many forums that the industry...

Sea-Fisheries (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (2 Feb 2022)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Tell me who I named. The Minister said that I personalise the issue. Who did I name? Did I name any official in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine or the SFPA? I did now what the Minister did back then. I believe that the Minister knows in his heart, as Deputy Danny Healy-Rae said, that this is wrong. It is my job as a spokesperson on fisheries and the marine to read The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Annual Report of Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority: Discussion (27 Jun 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...focusing on this vessel only because it is the second largest vessel in the world and it gives rise to great concern when it is off our coast. It was said earlier that, under European regulations, SFPA officers cannot be on board a vessel for longer than four hours and that the authority has the power to call a vessel to port, but to do that it must demonstrate reasonable cause. Do the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (13 May 2021)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: ...of seals around the weighing device to prevent it from being tampered with, there are CCTV cameras observing all the fish as they are weighed in real time and those monitors feed directly to the SFPA offices. That is a remarkable level of oversight. Then, at the back end of the factory, one can see packages with 20 kg of fish, with 60 on each trolley, weighing 1.2 tonnes. One can go...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Annual Report of Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority: Discussion (27 Jun 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I am asking the SFPA as practitioners.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Annual Report of Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority: Discussion (27 Jun 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: In terms of the specific issues here, could I ask that the committee will write to the Minister asking for assurances? In fairness to the SFPA, the witnesses have said they are limited to a policy perspective.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry: Discussion (11 May 2021)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Does the SFPA believe that a person or persons facing charges that impact on their reputations and livelihoods have a right to be presented with the evidence so that they can defend themselves?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Jun 2021)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I have one question. If the SFPA is not the most effective and strongest regulator in Europe then which is?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Weighing of Fisheries Products: Discussion (18 May 2022)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: The European Commission, in its recent statistics, rated Ireland as the most compliant member state in the EU in terms of fishery regulations. Does the SFPA agree with that rating? Is it correct?