John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

The Bill is designed to extend and strengthen the sea fisheries legislation in a number of important respects. It provides for the establishment of an independent statutory appeals process for sea-fishing boat licensing to give effect to a commitment in the programme for Government. Part 2 and Schedule 1 contain the detailed provisions in the matter.

It enables Ireland to give effect to the 1995 United Nations agreement concerning the conservation and management of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks, which are generally in the high seas, are vulnerable to over-fishing and require concerted international efforts to protect them properly. Part 3 contains the detailed implementation provisions required. For ease of reference Schedule 2 sets out the text of the agreement and Schedule 3 lists the highly migratory fish species requiring protection.

The opportunity is being taken to strengthen some existing sea fisheries enforcement legislation, notably by including additional Naval Service ranks, from sergeant and petty officer down to and including corporal and leading rating, and Air Corps ranks down to and including the rank of corporal, among sea fisheries protection officers in the interests of greater efficiency and effectiveness of enforcement effort – this is dealt with in section 21(1) – and increasing out-of-date penalties for certain serious offences, which is dealt with in sections 24 and 25.

Other penalties will be comprehensively reviewed early next year in the Sea Fisheries (Consolidation) Bill which is being prepared to consolidate and update in a convenient accessible form sea fisheries legislation spread over many Acts starting with the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959, which has been amended many times.

I draw attention to the detailed explanatory and financial memorandum published with the Bill, especially the appendix to the memorandum which sets out in a convenient consolidated form the current legislation for sea-fishing boat licensing. I will now deal with the background to the Bill and related policy issues.