Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I do not think we are doing justice to them today by discussing this Bill in a vacuum and without having given them a fair hearing.

Senator Nash mentioned boats registering in Northern Ireland. Can the Minister give guarantees that Dutch mussel producers have not been registering vessels in Northern Ireland or registering holding companies in order to claim a legal right to fish in our zero-to-six-mile zone? Can the Minister give me an undertaking that this is not happening? The evidence that is being presented to many Members of the House is quite the opposite. Are we opening up this questionable legislation to the rape and pillage of our mussel beds along the east coast and making them financially unviable for our own fishermen?

Can the Minister reassure me that Northern Irish shellfish farmers were not allocated thousands of tonnes of mussel seed in the Republic of Ireland without a fishing licence or even a boat? What are the safeguards to prevent that from happening with regard to this legislation?

Senator Norris touched on the issue of invasive species. We already have invasive species in Belfast Lough. The slipper limpet has already smothered UK species. It has out-competed native species in many European countries and is in Belfast Lough. This is the very area where we are proposing to give licences for boats coming down from Northern Ireland to our mussel beds on the east coast. The Minister has said there are safeguards. Where are they? This has destroyed mussel seed beds right across Europe, yet we are now opening up our mussel seed beds without proper consideration.

I do not have enough knowledge to support this Bill. I believe it needs further consideration. We should have the good manners to allow people who earn their livelihood from this sector to come in and give evidence and then let us make an informed decision. I do not believe we will be making that informed decision today. Amendments have been tabled, including by my party, concerning the reduction of the size of boats. I am not necessarily 100% sure that it is the right way to go. We certainly could tease it out if we allowed the experts to come in and give evidence. Then perhaps we could do the right thing by our fishermen because for decades we have sold them out. Let us try and support a small group of fishermen who are engaged inside the six-mile zone. Let us support them and ensure that they get a fair hearing. Let them come before a Dáil committee for pre-legislative scrutiny and let us take this in good faith and see if we can progress it. Even if the amendments were accepted I would have to oppose this Bill today, because it is rushed, there has not been due consideration and the very people this will affect have not had an opportunity to make their case to the Minister or ourselves on Committee Stage. I respectfully ask the Minister to consider withdrawing for a couple of weeks to allow the experts to come in to give evidence and allow us to take a considered position on this issue and do our utmost to protect our Irish fishermen who actually depend on the nought-to-six-mile zone for their livelihood.