Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Gallagher. He is a man for whom I have great respect. This morning, he confirmed my view that he is highly knowledgeable and has been active for many years fighting the good cause for the fishermen of Ireland.

On the ban on discards, for the ordinary man in the street it seems terribly wrong at a time when families are under pressure and there are many hungry people in the world that good fish would be thrown back into the sea, particularly as 95% of them, the figure mentioned by the MEP, would die or be useless as a result of being discarded. I understand how the issue of small fish can be dealt with by the use of more selective equipment and gear. I wonder how the issue of the larger fish that are out of quota can be dealt with and if there is still something wrong with perfectly good large fish being thrown back in. Given that from 2014 there will be a ban on discards, will the fishermen be provided with an incentive or will there be any assistance for them in modernising their equipment to ensure that the small fish will no longer be caught in the conventional way?

On control measures and sanctions, Mr. Gallagher stated that they differ greatly across member states. Why is that still the case and what actions are being taken to harmonise sanctions across member states? He stated that minor offences should be dealt with by administrative sanctions. How does he define minor offences? If those minor offences continue to be repeat offences, would he consider a different method of dealing with them?