Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

I commend to the House this major reform Bill, the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2005, as passed by Dáil Éireann on 22 February 2006. The Bill comprehensively updates and restates, in convenient format, the current statutory framework for sea-fisheries, which dates from 1959 and is spread over seven Acts. When enacted, the Bill together with the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2003, which provides an independent licensing and appeals system for sea-fishing boats, will represent a very significant achievement by the Government in modernising the law to help secure a sustainable future for the vital sea-fishing sector of the economy and the local communities which depend on it. Sustainable sea-fisheries are dependent on best practices in fisheries management and control and the main provisions of the Bill have been crafted on that fundamental principle. I will return to the sea-fisheries aspects shortly and deal with them at some length. The Bill, as will be noted from its Title, also replaces in up-to-date terms the three Maritime Jurisdiction Acts, also dating from 1959, and provides a clear statutory basis for the exclusive economic zone of the State, which underpins the exclusive fishery limits of the State, in accordance with Part 5 of the United Nations Law of the Sea, as set out in Schedule 2 to the Bill.

With Dáil approval, provision is made in section 84, for the first time in Irish law, for a definition of "contiguous zone"— that is the area between 12 and 24 nautical miles offshore from baselines — in accordance with Article 33 of the United Nations Law on the Sea. This provision is being made to set the foundations for further legislation, by the relevant Ministers, for enhancing the power of the State to protect archaeological objects in the contiguous zone, as well as to prevent infringements of customs, fiscal, immigration and sanitary laws within the national territory and territorial seas of the State, as specifically provided for in Articles 33 and 304(2) of the United Nations Law of the Sea. For the convenience of the House, I have had revised and published a detailed explanatory and financial memorandum to reflect the Bill as extensively amended and passed by Dáil Éireann on 22 February 2006.

The Irish sea-fishing industry has changed fundamentally since 1959 when small boats making short trips predominated. Nowadays, there are many multi-million euro businesses with large Irish boats operating in far-away regions, and there are large non-Irish boats fishing in the waters around Ireland and often landing their catch in Ireland. Sea-fishing is now substantially regulated at EU level through the Common Fisheries Policy. The Fisheries Acts need to be modernised to take account of those developments and realities and, in particular, to fill certain major gaps in the law, as identified by the Supreme Court in judgments in 2003 and 2005, as regards the detailed implementation of the EU Common Fisheries Policy.

As the House will be aware, the EU Common Fisheries Policy was substantially reformed in 2002 with increased emphasis on concerted actions to safeguard sea-fish stocks and to secure sustainable sea-fishing activity throughout the EU as well as beyond it. The Supreme Court impugned certain secondary legislation designed to give effect to EU sea-fisheries obligations for lack of cover in the current Fisheries Acts. Those judgments are far-reaching in their application and not, therefore, confined to the Fisheries Acts or the Department.

Section 14 of the Bill fills the gaps identified in section 224B of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959 by enabling detailed ministerial regulations to be made to apply the full range of EU requirements throughout the whole area to which the EU Common Fisheries Policy applies, and not only within the 200 nautical miles exclusive fishery limits of the State, or only specifically against illegal fishing or attempting to fish illegally, as section 224B stands at present. Section 15 fills the gaps identified in section 223A of the 1959 Act by specifically enabling detailed ministerial regulations to be made to supplement the EU Common Fisheries Policy where the State has discretion as to the particular measures to be adopted as, for example, in the case of lobster fisheries in coastal waters. The current text of sections 223A and 224B of the 1959 Act is set out in Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 to the detailed explanatory and financial memorandum published with the Bill as passed by Dáil Éireann.

In the interest of proper regulation, pursuant to the Government's 2004 White Paper, Regulating Better, sections 12 and 13 streamline the arrangements for allocating and managing the State's sea-fishing quotas and sea-fishing effort entitlements. Sections 74 to 80, inclusive, revise and bring together the law dating from 1894 relating to the registration of sea-fishing boats. Section 100 reduces unnecessary bureaucracy by exempting from compulsory registration as a ship under the Mercantile Marine Act 1955 any sea-fishing boat of less than 15 m in length overall which is registered in the statutory register of fishing boats or is formally exempted from such registration. Any other matters arising in regard to that Act are a matter for the Minister for Transport since 1 January 2006.

For the convenience of all concerned, section 97 contains the full up-to-date text of the law relating to sea-fishing boat licensing, incorporating the changes made by section 53 of the Maritime Safety Act 2005. As a further overdue clean-up of the Statute Book, section 4 of and Schedule 1 to the Bill provide for the repeal of obsolete, spent or superseded provisions of 16 Fisheries Acts and seven other Acts, the earliest four dating from 1455 to 1516, long being obsolete but still on the Statute Book.

As I highlighted, best practices in sea-fisheries management and control are essential so as to safeguard the future of sea-fisheries. The sea-fishing sector has to act responsibly so as to protect stocks against overfishing and to maximise the value of catches through product and market innovation. The law must provide sufficient deterrence against activities which threaten the long-term sustainability of sea-fisheries and the communities which depend upon them. The EU Common Fisheries Policy specifically requires all member states to have dissuasive penalty regimes.

The Bill, as substantially amended by Dáil Éireann, represents a balanced approach to penalties for illegal fishing, with larger boats liable to higher fines than smaller ones. The automatic forfeiture of gear and catch on court conviction of offences, which is a feature of Irish law for decades, is a potent deterrent and must substantially stand. Dáil Éireann, however, on my recommendation, modified section 28(6) and the current law to the extent that it will be for the court to decide on summary conviction of a person for a sea-fisheries offence for the first time whether to order the forfeiture of fish and fishing gear; if forfeiture is not ordered the court is obliged to explain why.

I am committed to building sustainable sea-fisheries and to strengthening control of these fisheries and I believe it is necessary to support this with penalties that are dissuasive. I will commit to continuing to work for a level playing field in the EU so that penalties across the board for sea-fisheries offences are at levels that are a deterrent and dissuasive.

Section 31 of the Bill is an important new provision which aims to capture the ill-gotten gains arising from illegal sea-fishing and should effectively deter such activity. The court will decide the issue in any case, with the guidance of the detailed provisions of the section. The section is a necessary addition to the suite of statutory provisions for the imposition by the courts of fines and forfeitures and may be used even if it is not feasible to take court proceedings for an offence of illegal fishing. Measures such as these are needed to safeguard fish stocks and allowable catches for the law-abiding and should commend themselves widely.

Chapter 5 of Part 2 of the Bill, and the related Schedule 3, provide for the establishment and functions of an independent statutory sea-fisheries protection authority to improve the enforcement of sea-fisheries law and food safety law relating to fish or fishery products. The comprehensive provisions were inserted on Committee Stage in the Dáil and are modelled on those for the Commission for Communications Regulation and the recently established Railway Safety Commission.

Novel provisions are included in Chapter 5 of Part 2 for the establishment of a statutory sea-fisheries protection consultative committee, representative of the sea-fishing and seafood sectors and other relevant interests. This will serve as a two-way forum between the sea-fisheries protection authority and those sectors and interests, and for readily-accessible complaints procedures to which persons aggrieved by enforcement action taken by, or on behalf of, the authority can have their complaints considered by an independent third party. The sea-fishing and seafood sectors in particular have welcomed these provisions.

The proposed sea-fisheries protection authority will be responsible for enforcing the EU Common Fisheries Policy in the State and I aim to proceed with its establishment as quickly as possible after the Bill becomes law. The authority will engage the current departmental complement of 38 sea-fisheries protection officers as well as the additional 45 now being recruited, and also such additional experts from other statutory bodies as may be required and available from time to time to meet particular seasonal or locational enforcement needs. This will ensure better, cost-effective enforcement arrangements.

There are other new provisions in the Bill relating to sea-fisheries matters, namely, the substantive sections 98 and 99 which are designed to clarify the law and benefit the law-abiding, in light of evolving needs and circumstances. Section 98 is intended to prevent competitive distortion due to non-compliance by some sea-fishing enterprises with taxation obligations. The section imposes tax clearance requirements for the grant of sea-fishing boat licences, because licensing provides access to a valuable public resource. Tax clearance is a requirement for the grant of taxi licences for that reason. The section will be commenced by ministerial order as soon as necessary consultations on the matter have taken place after the Bill is enacted.

Section 99 clarifies the scope of ministerial policy directives to the sea-fishing boat licensing authority or appeals officers, to include a specific reference to measures to control and regulate the capacity, etc., of the sea-fishing fleet and the rational management of fisheries. The detailed directives already in place have been duly presented to both Houses of the Oireachtas as the 2003 Act requires and are available on the Department's website www.dcmnr.gov.ie.

The Bill also makes important changes in the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997 for the benefit of well-run aquaculture businesses. I refer to section 101 of the Bill. There is a continuing significant development of aquaculture, within the statutory framework provided by the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997, as refined by the 1998 and 2001 Fisheries Acts.

The period since the enactment of the 1997 Act has, overall, been one of significant growth and development for the aquaculture sector, and the value of its output in 2004 was some €98 million. It is now a key component of overall seafood production and is generally recognised as having the capacity to play a critical role in the economic life of many coastal areas. The objective must be to ensure that the sector's further development is on a sustainable and environment-friendly basis. The regulatory framework established by the 1997 Act is central to the achievement of this objective, and the proposed changes to that framework are designed to enhance its operational effectiveness.

It is proposed that licence renewals may be granted for the continuance of well-run aquaculture operations of long standing, without the renewal, in all cases, having to be formally effected before the licences in question have expired. It may not be possible in every case to have all the necessary site inspections, water and other analyses formally completed before a particular date. In such circumstances it would be unfair to disrupt efficient well-run operations on what would be something of a technicality. It is proposed, therefore, that a licensee who has applied for a renewal of his or her licence will be able to continue to operate, subject to the terms and conditions of the licence, until a decision is made on the renewal application.

Furthermore, I am relaxing the blanket provisions for terminating a licence if I am satisfied that the operations could not commence within two years, as currently required, or have been suspended for a continuous period of two years, for bona fide reasons, such as illness on the part of the licence holder, fish health or environmental conditions. This is not a charter for people to acquire licences speculatively in the hope that after some years they can assign them to a third party. On the contrary, where licensed sites are not being used, the licences will be revoked and made available to others who are willing and able to operate the sites more productively.

The opportunity is also being taken to facilitate the reduction of licensed sites and licensed production, and the use of novel or experimental equipment, subject to appropriate conditions. The problem mainly arises in bottom culture where substantial portions of licensed sites may prove to be unsuitable for cultivation. At present licence holders wishing to reduce the size of their licensed areas, and benefit from a proportional reduction in licence fees, are obliged to go through the licensing process anew. This is neither necessary nor appropriate, but it should be open to a licensee to request the reduction of the licensed area or the permitted production. Similarly, the activation of the full licensing process where a licensee wants only to use novel or experimental equipment for the purposes of the aquaculture allowed by the licensee is unduly onerous.

Accordingly, the proposal is that the Minister will be able to authorise this at the request of the licensee, but only where no greater environmental or visual impact would result. While these changes relating to aquaculture are essentially technical in nature, I hope they will streamline the licensing process and enhance its effectiveness. Aquaculture production is primarily intended for human consumption and food safety considerations must therefore prevail. I confirm that my policy will continue to be to ensure that all aquaculture operations are properly conducted.

Section 102 is an important new provision designed to safeguard Exchequer revenues, by preventing the build-up of arrears of charges for services provided at the five State-owned fishery harbour centres, and allow the fishery harbour centres to continue to meet customer needs which are not confined to the sea-fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

The core of the Bill is an important suite of provisions to strengthen sea-fisheries law and improve enforcement arrangements in order to safeguard sea-fish stocks for sustainable fishing and rational management. The Bill also usefully clarifies the law relating to sea-fishing boat licensing and registration, and aquaculture, for the benefit of those businesses. Additional safeguards are being provided in the Bill for Exchequer revenues and needed service provision at the five State-owned fishery harbour centres for the sea-fishing and aquaculture industries.

The Bill provides an up-to-date legal framework for the sea-fishing and aquaculture industries to develop their businesses properly and I wish them well. I am committed to working to deliver a sustainable sea-fisheries sector. The proposed new legislative framework I commend here will ensure that we have a strong fishing industry that guards against illegal fishing and will, in the long term, drive the delivery of prosperous, thriving coastal communities on a sound, sustainable foundation.

Looking to the future and following the delivery of the necessary restructuring through the €45 million scrapping scheme, there is every reason to be confident that fishing will continue to provide the economic backbone to many remote rural coastal communities. Balanced regional development will also be secured. The industry has potential and significant progress is being made on giving the necessary protection to the resource.

Stock recovery plans have been agreed for key whitefish stocks around Ireland such as cod and hake. There is a general determination to make inroads into the protection and rebuilding of stocks flowing from the reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy in 2002. Recovery of such stocks is planned within three to five years generally and can then be the basis of a sustainable, vibrant and economically-sound fishing industry. I will continue to work at EU level for the degree of commitment and actions that we are delivering to ensure a level playing field and a sea-fisheries regime which guarantees sustainable fish stocks for the future.

I commend the Bill to the House.