John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

The Minister had to leave as he has a meeting with the EU Environment Commissioner, otherwise he would be here to respond. I thank Senators for their contributions. Although I was not in the House, I listened to some excellent and some fiery contributions. That has been the tone of debate since the Bill was published. There has been 20 to 25 hours of debate between the other House and this one.

The Bill has resulted in a discussion which is, in many ways, welcome because the fishing industry effects us all. I come from a coastal county in the south east next to Senator Kenneally's and I listened to Senators McHugh and Lydon and other Senators who come from coastal counties. It is important that they put their views on record. At the same time, the Minister had a job to do in introducing Bill. As Senators will see, he has made many changes along the way and has accepted many amendments.

I wish to deal with a few of the issues raised. Senators Mansergh and Norris raised the issue of inland fisheries and the salmon tagging system, the operation of which Senator Norris questions. When the tagging system started four years ago, the quota was 230,000 tonnes while this year, it will be down to 106,000 tonnes. In fairness, the Department has moved towards achieving the figures in the scientific advice but at the same time, we must strike a balance between anglers, the importance of tourism and the livelihoods of families living on our coastline. Some decisions will be taken in the next couple of weeks in this area. No matter what decisions one makes on an annual basis in regard to the salmon tagging system, people are generally not happy with them. We have, however, given a commitment that we will achieve the figures contained in the scientific advice by 2007 and that remains our aim.

Senator O'Toole talked about his childhood memories and the different types of boats, including the smaller ones. Generally, the smaller boats have been replaced by a number of larger ones. This has tended to be the case not only in fisheries but in agriculture, retail and so on. Larger boats are now part and parcel of the fishing industry. When Senator O'Toole was young, the national catch was approximately 20,000 tonnes while today quotas are ten times that level at 200,000 tonnes. We have moved on and we have a reasonably modern fishing fleet which bears no comparison with that in the past.

I would like to think that during my term in the Department over the next 15 months until the general election, we will look at the operations of the fishing industry. The EU is reducing quotas all the time and it is important we have a system in place in regard to decommissioning so we would reach a system whereby the number of people involved in the fishing industry would match the quota and families would be able to make a viable living from fishing. We cannot have quota reductions while the fishing fleet remains the same size. I hope that, through dialogue and discussions, the Minister and I, together with representatives of the industry will be able to sit down together in the coming weeks and months, far away from any agitation or disharmony, and make decisions on how best to develop our fishing industry. It is still an important industry in terms of job creation in rural Ireland and we want it to ensure it develops.

Senator Henry referred to the large vessels operating in our waters. However, many of them operate outside our waters in the coastal waters of Mauritania, Morocco and Peru and in other far distant waters. Enforcement of the legislation was raised by a number of speakers. The Minister and I met the Commissioner a few weeks ago and we strongly pressed the point that if we are to get our house in order in terms of our industry, it is important that the EU would also get its house in order in terms of ensuring that if other member states break the law, they would be called to heel by EU and we would have strict enforcement of law in this area across the EU.

The proposed sea-fisheries protection authority was raised by Senators MacSharry, Kenneally and McHugh. Three people, including the current sea-fisheries officer controller, will be at the helm of that authority. The authority will engage the current departmental complement of 38 sea-fisheries protection officers as well as an additional 45 personnel, which will bring the total complement to almost 100. Furthermore, additional experts from other statutory bodies will be brought in, as may be required and available from time to time, to meet particular seasonal or locational enforcement needs. This proposed authority is to be welcomed and we will ensure it is adequately staffed. It is no secret that the lack of staff and resources in the Department down through the years has caused some of the problems we face. The provision of an increase in staff from 38 to almost 100 is welcome and will ensure that the authority will be able to deliver a proper service in this area.

The issue of discards was raised by Senator Lydon, in particular, and others. We should not delude ourselves that this practice is only happening in other fishery waters, it is happening here. However, Ireland has pressed at European level for an observer programme for all larger pelagic vessels, which would require observers to be placed on these vessels. We are pursuing this matter at European level and will continue to do so. We will also take it up with the Minister for Defence, Deputy O'Dea, to ascertain what further actions the Naval Service or the Air Corps can take in this regard.

The Bill represents a major updating and consolidation of sea fisheries and other laws dating back to 1959 and, in some respects, to some time prior to that. By clearly providing comprehensively for the implementation of the requirements of the EU Common Fisheries Policy, the Bill signals the need for proper conservation and management of sea fisheries which are under serious challenge.

The Bill has been developed significantly since it was initiated in Dáil Éireann and now comprises 104 section and three Schedules compared with 71 sections and two Schedules initially. The largest addition relates to provisions for the establishment and functions of the independent statutory sea-fisheries protection authority.

The Department is committed to seeking the sustainability of sea fisheries, particularly in terms of the coastal communities who depend on them. We again call on the sea fishing industry and its representatives to work closely with us in developing appropriate strategies to achieve this. Nearly all the Senators who spoke made the point that sitting down with the representatives and engaging in dialogue and discussion is the way forward.

I regard the attacks on civil servants as unacceptable. Ireland is threatened with the imposition of serious EU fines. We have had incidents of illegal fishing and there were Scottish incidents involving 40,000 tonnes of mackerel, which if it had been processed here would have created a significant number of jobs in Donegal and in other parts of the country. The evidence exists that some fishermen are operating outside the law. It is unfair to make attacks on civil servants. We want to bring about a situation where we have a viable fishing industry with fishermen operating within the law.

I thank all the Senators who contributed and I look forward to working with them on Committee Stage.