Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I welcome the Minister, who is always accommodating in the Seanad, and his officials. I am glad we have the opportunity to discuss the Bill, which concerns the criminal sanctions imposed upon our fishermen. Sea fisheries offences in Ireland are predominantly criminal in nature in terms of the sanctions that apply. That leaves Ireland as the only European maritime jurisdiction to rely exclusively on criminal sanctions. This Bill aims to correct this anomaly and to protect fishermen and the future of the industry.

The 2006 legislation, introduced by Noel Dempsey, was an outrageous item of legislation because it criminalised fishermen. I was openly critical of the legislation, as was Senator Denis O'Donovan. It was the wrong legislation at the wrong time and it did nothing to support genuine fishermen doing their utmost to earn a livelihood. Some 75% of the registered fishing fleet vessels in Ireland are under 10 m and it threw the very small fishermen in the same category as factory ships in terms of the sanctions imposed on the fishermen. That was wrong.

The Irish seafood industry supports coastal communities, directly supporting 11,600 jobs including full-time, part-time and casual employment in the fisheries, agriculture and seafood processing industries.

That includes full, part-time and casual employment in the fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing industries.

The Irish fishing fleet consists of 2,186 registered vessels, with 1,637, or 75%, of them under 10 m in length. There are 355 vessels between 10 m and 19 m, 36 vessels between 19 m and 22 m and 158 vessels over 22 m. Therefore, the majority of the Irish fishing fleet is made up of smaller vessels, with 75% being vessels under 10 m in length. Under the Common Fisheries Policy there is a requirement on all European member states to enforce an effective system of sanctions for dealing with breaches of community law. Notwithstanding this, the sea-fishing community in Ireland has been aggrieved at the use of onerous criminal penalties to control even minor breaches of technical regulations. All stakeholders accept the necessity to retain stiff penalties to control serious quota and environmental breaches but expensive and time-consuming criminal procedures are an inefficient way of dealing with minor technical offences and encouraging a culture of sea fisheries compliance.

For example, section 28 of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 provides for stiff maximum penalties of up to €100,000 and these penalties, which may be imposed on conviction, are set out in a table of offences and punishments graduated in reference to the size of the contravening vessel. These fines are up to and including €100,000 for boats greater than 18 m in length. The penalties are stiff but in addition to those fines there is also the mandatory tying of a vessel, suspension and revocation of fishing licences and the forfeiture of catch and gear, which are a statutory consequence of almost all offences under the Act. Taken together, these impose extremely serious penalties, even for non-serious infractions.

This Bill recognises the serious quota breaches and environmental infringes which require the full rigour of fisheries enforcement. However, Ireland is now the only major maritime jurisdiction to retain an exclusive reliance on criminal sanctions to control sea-fisheries offences. The European Commission has consistently reiterated its position that administrative penalties are a more effective means of ensuring compliance with the Common Fisheries Policy in a cost-effective manner. Northern Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland have all introduced a fixed penalty notice regime since 2008.

The purpose of this Bill is to introduce a system of administrative sanctions to provide efficient punishment for minor offences, benefitting both the State and fishermen. Administrative fixed penalty notices would be introduced as a proportionate response to minor breaches of technical legislation, and that principle has been an established part of Irish constitutional jurisprudence since at least 1961. Section 103 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 provides that where a member of An Garda Síochána has reasonable grounds for believing that a stated offence has been committed, the garda may issue a penalty notice requiring the payment of a specific fixed charge.

The justification for bringing forward the 2006 legislation was constitutional and it could not be changed on the basis of advice from the Attorney General. However, the independent Oireachtas Library and Research Service has established that the following constitutional principles with regard to a system of administrative penalties exist. There is no prima facieobjection to administrative levying of fixed charges or temporary professional suspensions and the process must be done on the basis of reasonable suspicion or some similar formula. If an administrative tribunal purports to make findings of culpability, there is the possibility of straying into constitutionally suspect considerations. The current legislative maximum for an administrative penalty is €1,000 and each single penalty falls below the ceiling. It is not constitutionally relevant for several infractions to be punished simultaneously, leading to a larger total fine. The alleged infracting vessel must always retain the right to appeal the fine or temporary suspension, and I have built in an appeals mechanism under the proposed legislation.

There is nothing peculiar to fishing that renders it materially different to other examples of administrative tribunal operating in other sections of society. Particularly, there is no reason a penalty points regime could not be instituted for minor fisheries offences. Therefore, the Bill aims to complement the fixed penalty notice system rather than replace the system provided for in the 2006 Act. The option of a hearing in court is retained as part of the primary legislation. The Bill will also satisfy the European Commission position, as it has again called on member states to ensure a system of sanctions that has a deterrent effect, amending where appropriate legislation so that sanctions have a dissuasive effect.

The aims of the Bill are outlined in the document and Senator O'Donovan will touch on them. They seek to improve and widen enforcement mechanisms, have an appropriate fine system to match infractions, deal with less serious offences through a new penalty points system and provide an exemption to the forfeiture of gear. For example, somebody at the moment could have a small vessel tied up for a relatively minor fishing infraction, meaning he or she cannot fish. Gear is confiscated as a secondary consequence and the person will also end up in court. There is a major cost to the State with this legal route, and there is also a major cost for the owners of the fishing vessel.

This Bill may not be perfect - I am not saying it is - but we have given it the best shot we could. We have met representatives of the fishing industry up and down the country. We were in the Minister's own beautiful county of Cork partaking in an array of public meetings. West Cork is a lovely part of the country that I visited with Senator O'Donovan, and we have also met fishing representatives from the offshore islands, Mayo, Donegal, Galway, etc.

This Bill will not solve the problems of the fishing industry, and I know the Minister is working towards dealing with quota issues, etc., but it will at least eliminate the criminal nature of small technical fishing infractions involving small vessels. In opposition, a Fine Gael Deputy, Mr. Jim O'Keeffe, who is no longer a Member of the Dáil, brought forward a very similar Bill, although I am proposing that we go further, reduce fines and introduce an appeals mechanism in order to satisfy the constitutional requirement as highlighted by the Oireachtas Library and Research Service.

I hope the Minister will this evening accept what we are trying to achieve in the Bill and at least come half way to meet us. As I stated on the Order of Business this morning when we discussed the quota issues, we all need to wear the green jersey over the next two to three weeks, leaving party politics outside the room. We must give the Minister, his officials and the Department our full support, and I hope the Minister will return the favour tonight by at least acknowledging what we are trying to achieve. We are willing to work with him in every manner in trying to ensure we can support the smaller fishing vessels, and particularly those 75% or 80% of vessels under 15 m in length. That would be a step in the right direction for the industry. Céad míle maith aige and I appreciate the Minister being here.