Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Fisheries are a huge part of our natural resources. Given the forthcoming Brexit negotiations, I feel that this legislation is premature. As Senator Humphreys said, proper scrutiny of the Bill needs to take place. I am afraid that the Bill is a bit shoddy. I have heard from fishermen who feel they were not consulted. We live on an island that has 7,500 km of coastline with a great ocean wealth around us, but in recent decades Irish fishermen have had a really bad deal. I know that from fishermen in Dunmore East where I am from, and in the south-east region generally. They have suffered and are still suffering hardship, and feel they are losing out.

Every emphasis should be on ensuring that there are no loopholes in this legislation which could cost the livelihoods of families and communities involved in the fishing industry. We are at the early stages of this Bill but I will be putting massive energy into this debate. Fishermen need support and respect. The Government has supported the agricultural sector but possibly at some cost to the fisheries sector.

The Bill is premature and I wish the Minister would hold off until the Brexit negotiations commence. I am representing the Civil Engagement group which feels strongly about this issue. Members of the group have asked me to express their opposition to the Bill. The new legislation means that millions of euro worth of Irish shellfish would be taken out of Irish waters by British companies. There has been little or no consultation with Irish fishermen on this Bill. There is strong anger and opposition to allowing other vessels fish in our waters.

In the Supreme Court, Irish fishermen successfully challenged the Minister's practice of permitting some British vessels to fish inside a sea area specially designated for Irish fishing boats. This activity was undermining Irish sovereignty and putting Irish vessels out of business. A policy of setting aside the law and not prosecuting these British vessels was found to be an unlawful practice by a panel of six Supreme Court judges. This new Bill once again provides for a British vessel to fish up to the shore all around our coast, and not be liable to prosecution for doing so. There is no clarity on what vessels will avail of this new provision and no impact assessment of how this unqualified fishing will impact on the smaller national fleet that relies so heavily on the inner six-mile zone.

Irish fishermen do not want this arrangement at all, as evidenced by presentations to that effect which have been made by various organisations to the Minister. They opposed the arrangement when it was first put in place as an agreement not to prosecute in the 1960s and 1970s, and more recently as evidenced by the 2016 case. They see no benefit to the taxpayer or to fishermen from this. In fact, it will result in job losses and millions of euro in lost revenue for Ireland.

They also say that it will be abused by large international companies that can claim a tenuous link to Northern Ireland and that will act ruthlessly in exploiting other countries' resources. Fishermen feel they are being mistreated by our own Government for some unclear political objective. They fully support maintaining good relations with their neighbours, but argue that this should not be at the cost of a small group of citizens who have complied with the law. They have invested heavily, while their businesses have been ruined and their livelihoods taken away. They have been given no explanation why the Government insists on proceeding on this basis.

The Minister should engage with the fishermen, as Senators will do in the coming weeks, with regard to this legislation. We will engage far more with them and hopefully we will have a more meaningful debate on Committee Stage. However, I am not too happy with this legislation as it stands.