Brendan Kenneally (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister and his staff for their diligence and help during the passage of this legislation. I also thank Opposition spokespersons and those who contributed on Second Stage.

A long time seems to have passed since the Bill was published. There were extensive discussions on the Bill at meetings of the Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. This Bill was debated in the Dáil and the Seanad and has been immeasurably improved since the legislation was first presented. I would like to see other measures in it but I appreciate the Minister's commitment to meet with fishing organisations to discuss the future of the industry.

Anyone who habitually breaks the law should be dealt with severely by the courts and no Member would suggest otherwise. Those who habitually break the law are causing problems in the industry but minor offences could be dealt with in another way.