Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 15:

In page 28, subsection (1), line 47, to delete "detain the boat further" and substitute "release the boat".

With regard to the right of appeal on the further detention of a boat, there is a fear among members of the fishing community that they could be embroiled in a legal logjam. It would be unfair on people working in the Department to use the term "procrastination", but there is bureaucracy within the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. It is evident in every Department, including the Department of Agriculture and Food and the Department of Health and Children. As a result of such bureaucracy, there is a fear of further detention of boats, and that this could be a problem in the long term.