Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. Fianna Fáil supports the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2017. The Bill puts the voisinageagreement, concluded by the Governments of Ireland and the UK under the London Fisheries Convention 1964, into primary legislation. Under the voisinageagreement, Northern Ireland-registered fishing vessels are allowed to fish within Ireland's exclusive fisheries limits within zero to 6 nautical miles of the coast, as the Minister has highlighted, provided that Irish-registered vessels have similar reciprocal rights to fish within the exclusive fisheries limits of UK waters surrounding Northern Ireland.

The agreement has operated successfully for the past 50 years and has facilitated a number of Irish-owned vessels registered outside the jurisdiction which have territorially fished in exclusive state fishing waters. The 1964 arrangements also symbolised the harmonious relationship between the North and South on the issue and were the culmination of the visit by the iar-Taoiseach, Seán Lemass, when he met Captain Terence O'Neill, then Prime Minister of Northern Ireland. The voisinageagreement was formalised in an exchange of letters between the Governments of the UK and the North and South during the 1960s.

Fianna Fáil fully supports putting the voisinageagreement on a statutory footing following a Supreme Court judgment last October. The court ruled there was insufficient provision for these arrangements in domestic law. It found that fishing by Northern Ireland vessels within the zero to six nautical mile zone of the territorial waters of the State which was catered for under the voisinagearrangements was not legally permissible. Under this Bill, a person on board a foreign sea-fishing boat shall not fish or attempt to fish while the boat is within the exclusive fisheries limit of the State unless he or she is on board a sea-fishing boat owned and operated in Northern Ireland while the boat is within the area between zero and six nautical miles.

Ireland's fisheries sector is an essential part of the Irish economy. The Irish fisheries sector employs some 11,000 persons in full-time and part-time jobs in coastal communities right around the country. In 2016 seafood exports alone were valued at €557 million and domestic sales of seafood €239 million. However, a hard Brexit presents a clear and present danger to the Irish fishing and seafood industry. Currently, there are strong trade links between both countries. Seafood imports from the UK in 2015 represented 65% of total imports worth €148 million into the country while Irish seafood exports to the UK represented 13% of total exports or €71 million.Irish seafood exports to the United Kingdom constituted 13% of total exports and were valued at €71 million.

The Government must make fisheries a top priority in future negotiations between the European Union and United Kingdom. It is imperative that we safeguard Irish interests relating to access to fishing grounds and quota share, including the Hague preferences, while avoiding the erection of trade barriers. The voisinageagreement must also form part of future Brexit negotiations. It has been highlighted that the intention of the voisinagearrangement, at all times, was that vessels would be under 75 ft. or 22 m. If vessel size were an open-ended matter, large vessels registered in Northern Ireland could fish in the six nautical mile zone in which vessels registered in the Republic of Ireland cannot fish. In such circumstances, these larger vessels would be exploiting the position. It is important, therefore, that vessel lengths are taken into consideration.

The inshore fishing fleet sustains fishing communities nationwide and the sector comprises more than 80% of the total fishing fleet, consisting of boats of less than 12 m. in length. In addition, inshore fishing is principally active within six nautical miles of the shore. For this reason, the Fianna Fáil Party will table an amendment to safeguard inshore fisheries by tightening the current restriction on sea fishing boats to not more than 15 m. or 50 ft. in length. The purpose is to prevent potentially super-size vessels from accessing Irish fishing waters and over-fishing at an unsustainable level in the six nautical mile zone. We recognise, however, that for this change to take effect, full consultation with the UK authorities will be required to operationalise this condition in both jurisdictions. We are also aware that the legislation, once passed, will come under the spotlight again during the Brexit negotiations.

I thank my colleague, Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher, for sharing with me his extensive local knowledge of this matter.