John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senators for their contributions to the debate and also their good wishes to me.

This is an important Bill. However, we have had a very wide-ranging debate on the fishing industry in Ireland, its importance to fishermen and the economy, which is to be welcomed. The Bill is needed to implement the current programme for Government commitment to establish an independent statutory appeals process for sea fishing boat licensing to enable Ireland to ratify and take part in the EU international implementation of the 1995 United Nations agreement and strengthen some existing fishery enforcement legislation in the interests of better enforcement and deterrents against illegal fishing.

The non-statutory appeals officer is Mr. Niall Beirne, barrister at law, c/o the Law Library. He is in situ and will operate in that position until it is put on a statutory basis. The appeals process will not apply to past decisions which have review mechanisms which include the courts. If everything goes well and the legislation is passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas, the appeals process will apply to decisions from 1 January 2003.

Senator Kenneally raised the issue of the right of appeal by a third party. The Bill allows for such a right. The Senator pointed out that there are people who want the chance to get involved in sea fishing but who cannot if limited opportunities are confined to a few. All licence applications for sea fishing boats will be publicly available for observation and there will be a right of appeal thereafter for any third party.

All of the Senators involved today, Senators Finucane, Cummins, O'Toole, Daly, Meara and MacSharry, who was making his maiden speech – I wish him all the best in the future – raised the key issues of the Irish Box and the CFP negotiations. The Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, coming from a coastal county, is very much aware of concerns in this area. He has visited a number of EU states in recent weeks meeting fishery Ministers to express concern about what Commissioner Fischler might have in mind and the concerns of the industry about the implications of tampering with the Irish Box, impressing upon like-minded Ministers the need for support in December when the Council of Ministers meets.