Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I regret that we are in this difficult situation. I do not believe we would be in this position if the opportunities outlined by Senator Mac Lochlainn had been taken up by the Minister and his officials in the past two years. We have had almost two years to reflect on this issue. The Cathaoirleach or the Minister can correct me if I am wrong but I understand the matter dates back to the decision by the Minister in May 2017 to withdraw this legislation from the consideration of this House because agreement could not be reached at that time.

I acknowledge Senator Mac Lochlainn's point that the Minister has made some inroads in recent days in addressing some of the concerns of the major fish production organisation. The organisation in question iterated these concerns to each and every Member of this House two years ago when we were initially considering the legislation on Second Stage and, subsequently, on Committee Stage. Unfortunately, since May 2017, we have had nothing but radio silence from the Minister and Department. That time could have been used constructively to engage with us, as Members of this Parliament, and fishing communities and fishing representative organisations to address the concerns that we are again expressing this evening in relation to the application of this legislation, if it is to pass.

The Minister referred to letters and so forth that he has received from the British authorities. They are consistent in many ways in that they express the view that the British authorities would like to see the spirit and letter of the previous voisinageagreement provided for, respected and honoured. However, it is difficult for us to accept the bona fides of some of those expressions that voisinagemay be honoured by both sides and there would be reciprocity in the absence of any commitment from the British Government to legislate to give effect to that. I ask the Minister to address that. Is it his view that primary legislation would be required in the UK to give effect to the voisinageagreement and reciprocity?

We are not living in normal times. In normal times, a commitment such as that set out in the letters the Minister read out a few moments ago would generally be enough to convince and persuade this Parliament to take a certain course of action. However, normal business has been suspended in the UK where the political situation is so fluid and unreal that we could be staring down the barrel of political anarchy in the UK over the next short period in the context of the ongoing Brexit farrago.

This issue arrived back on the agenda with a bang in recent weeks as a direct result of the detention of two Kilkeel fishers who were fishing in Dundalk Bay. Naturally at this sensitive time, such issues are magnified in the context of Brexit and delicate North-South and east-west relationships. As I have stated time and again, this has nothing to do with Brexit and everything to do with our right as a sovereign Parliament to legislate or not legislate in the interests of the people we represent, notwithstanding all of the valid concerns of everybody inside and outside this Chamber and across this island to generate, protect, promote and nurture positive relationships.Our primary responsibility is to fishing communities in the Republic of Ireland. I represent Clogherhead while Senators Mac Lochlainn and Ó Domhnaill represent Donegal and my party colleague, Deputy Howlin, represents in Wexford - people who have really been at the front of this issue for many years. I agree with Senator Mac Lochlainn that we must take the action taken by Gerard Kelly very seriously indeed. He is, in my experience, an honourable man. He is a man of enormous integrity, and I am sure the Minister will agree with me on that, and a man who has taken considerable risks to protect his business, family and community and that is what we are trying to do here today. I do not say that in any pithy way. That is a fact and that is what we need to focus on, that is, what is in the interest of fishing communities in this Republic and what course of action should our sovereign Parliament take to protect their interests.

The reality is that we have no idea what the post-Brexit fishing or fisheries relationship is going to be. Even if someone were minded to legislate to give effect to the former voisinageagreement, it is ill-conceived, wrong-headed and poorly advised, in my opinion, to legislate at this point in time because we do not know what the Common Fisheries Policy arrangements are going to look like in the context of a post-Brexit scenario.

I ask the Minister to clarify something for me. He may have done so already and I apologise for being slightly late to the debate. There are many in this House who would like to be reassured that if we are to legislate, that access will only be provided to the Irish inshore for those vessels that are owned, managed and operated by those who reside in Northern Ireland, and have their business interests in Northern Ireland. I am not convinced that is possible for many reasons that we have discussed in the context of the meeting that we have had and the meeting with the Minister's officials. I am not convinced or persuaded in respect of issues that have arisen here time and again - for example, Dutch multinational corporation vessels with Northern Irish flags of convenience, which are in effect UK vessels fishing in the Irish inshore depleting our natural resources to the detriment of fishing communities. I do not believe that there is any way of ensuring that access can only be provided if one were minded to legislate for vessels that are exclusively from Northern Ireland to the exclusion, for example, of vessels that would be registered in England, Scotland and Wales because the reality is there is no such thing, in my opinion, as a Northern Irish vessel.

My advice is that we tread extremely carefully. It is unwise, at least at this point, to give effect to the oldvoisinageagreement in legislation. At the very least we should embark on a process of pre-legislative scrutiny to look under the bonnet of this legislation, and interrogate it very robustly which I do not think that we have managed to do in that two-year window that has been created since the withdrawal of this legislation from this House back in May of 2017. We should tread carefully and not just accept the goodwill and bona fides at face value of various statements from the UK Government in terms of what it would do because remember that it is withdrawing unilaterally from the London Fisheries Convention on 4 July of this year. Therefore, we could be staring down the barrel of a serious challenge for the Irish fishing industry and it would be very unwise, if I may use the language, to play this hand at this point in time even if this House is minded to legislate based on the principles that were expressed and espoused by my good colleague, Senator Marshall, and others.

We all want to see positive North-South relationships. As I said in the week before the St. Patrick's week break when we dealt with this issue previously, it is our responsibility, as the sovereign Parliament of the Republic of Ireland, to legislate in the interests of those we represent. This is the Legislature that they look to. I accept and appreciate that we need to promote, generate and nurture those good relationships but that needs to be done in an equitable fashion. We need to be reassured, and we need legal certainties and guarantees from the UK, that their side of the bargain will be fulfilled, and that would involve genuine reciprocity provided for in primary law in Westminster. It could be the case that what we need to do is to say that we will agree to legislate but only when the Houses of Parliament does so and in parallel with any action that the Houses of Parliament might take.