Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to share time with my colleague, Senator Kevin Humphreys. The Labour Party has some concerns about the proposed legislation. From the perspective of greater clarity and public scrutiny, I am pleased we will have a Committee Stage at a later point. The legislation could benefit from that process. I look forward to some of our concerns being addressed or assuaged in some way during that process.

The Minister has given the House a potted history of where we have come from and where we are going now. A gentlemen's agreement with no foundation, input or oversight from the Oireachtas was formulated in the 1950s and 1960s and is now to be given full legislative effect. However, I have some words of warning for the Minister. That this "nod and a wink" arrangement drafted many years ago suited the climate in the 1950s and 1960s does not mean it should be codified in law now. We cannot really appreciate why this exchange of letters took place almost 60 years ago without understanding the political context of the time. It was a classic Irish solution to an Irish problem at that moment in time. It suited official Ireland at that time to allow Northern Irish fishing vessels to fish with impunity in Irish inshore waters. We must remember that the State at that time maintained a constitutional claim over the Six Counties. That claim is gone having been removed from the Constitution by popular vote almost 20 years ago. Ireland is a very different place now and the fishing industry is very different. The rules are different and the business is very different indeed.

The fishing industry is under considerable pressure from many angles, including the effects of substantial fishing in Irish waters by Northern Irish vessels. In recent years, there has been very aggressive dredging of mussel beds to plunder mussel seed from Irish territorial waters. This cannot be allowed to continue unchallenged. It is not co-operation as characterised by some speakers, and communities are living with the consequences. I make no apologies for saying that we should protect our natural resources in the Republic because we are answerable to the people and communities here in terms of how we do our business. That is the Minister's job and it is my job. It is the job of everyone in the House.

Even if we are minded to support the Bill at some point, its text appears weaker even that the terms used in the voisinageagreement. The term "Northern Ireland owned and operated" is imprecise and there is a view at large that in its interpretation it could be exploited and abused. It is said to be even weaker than the previous term which referred to vessels owned and operated by fishermen permanently resident in the Six Counties. Much of the dredging done by Northern Irish vessels in the waters of the Irish Republic is carried out by vessels owned in many cases by foreign-owned firms. Surely, codifying this arrangement in law should not be about enriching foreign investors. Since November 2016 and arising from the Barlow judgment of the Supreme Court, it continues to be unlawful for Northern Irish vessels to fish for mussel seed in inshore waters of the Irish Republic. I have no difficulty with that continuing to be the case.

We should move very cautiously on this. I am glad we will have Committee Stage and that it will not be taken today because of our intervention. There has been no pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill, which concerns me. It is a process we introduced in the previous term and legislation always benefits from a high level of scrutiny before it is introduced in either House. Why we are codifying the voisinageagreement in Irish law in advance of the commencement of Brexit negotiations and, as it were, showing our hand beats me for all of the reasons pointed out by Senator Mac Lochlainn. If the Irish fishing industry is in difficulty now, it could very well be in even more difficulty in the future, notwithstanding the very strong work the Minister will do to defend the interests of the Irish fishing industry.

I am concerned to have heard from the IFPO that it has been formally consulted on this only in recent days. From my experience as a Minister of State for a period of time, I know there are certain entities which might be described as "statutory partners" who should always be consulted in detail on important legislation like this before it emerges from the relevant Department.From what I have been told, it appears to be the case that the Irish Fish Producers Organisation, IFPO, has not been consulted up to now on this impactful legislation that could ultimately end up negatively affecting coastal communities and the fishing industry which is currently under pressure.