Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a Northern Ireland register. It is not open to every UK boat. It is open to boats that are owned and operated in Northern Ireland.Senator Mac Lochlainn made a point about inadequate consultation. I do not want to go over the history of this going back to 2016 and the Supreme Court decision and the number of meetings I have had with representatives of the National Inshore Fisheries Forum, NIFF, and the Irish Fish Producers Organisation, IFPO. In respect of the two organisations he specifically mentioned, the IFPO and NIFF, representative of both bodies were in attendance and before we issued a press release arising from that consultation last Thursday, we cleared the draft press release with each of the representative bodies that were present. The specific ask of the IFPO and the other representatives there was to read in the specific assurances about other boats, other than the Northern Ireland vessels, being specifically excluded. They wanted the letters of the UK minister referenced and reference to the Northern Ireland committee in the House of Commons specifically read into the record. I believe what I have done so far is compliant with their wishes. I have not met individual interests, either companies or lobbyists, but I have met representative of the National Inshore Fisheries Forum on many occasions in recent times, not specifically about voisinagebut we discussed it last Thursday with their chairperson. I have discussed it previously with them. I have been very engaged with the National Inshore Fisheries Forum because I believe the sector has significant potential. Let us leave aside this issue, which is a separate one. The National Inshore Fisheries Forum consists of all the Regional Inshore Fisheries Forums. They are all constituted around the table when I meet the National Inshore Fisheries Forum. We have discussed this previously as a collective and in detail with them through their representative last Thursday. The consultation has been substantial.

It is important to make the following point because there is conflation of access and management. Senator Marshall made the point about managing the resource. Of course, it is important to preface this by saying this is not species-specific. I know many Members are straying into a subset, a specific species area, and I am not going to do that because it is fraught with legal issues. Management of any one of these resources is important. I acknowledge the leadership position that the National Inshore Fisheries Forum, NIFF, has taken. Reference was made to V-notching and a host of other initiatives that it has been involved in that I have signed off on in terms of regulations, etc.

If one reads the Bill and the amendment, it is the case that anybody who is coming in will have access only under the same terms and conditions as our inshore sector. If there are regulations around size, weight and V-notching, they apply to those who are coming in as much as they apply to our inshore sector.

Senator Marshall made a very good point in terms of the resource and climate change. There are shifting sands in terms of these resources. I am fully committed to working with the NIFF and the stakeholders in terms of managing a sustainable resource, whether it is under the Common Fisheries Policy or within our zero to six nautical miles from shore in non-quota species. Management of a scarce resource is critical. We have management structures that are there, but let us not confuse management of these resources with the principle of access. Fundamentally this legislation is about the principle of access and reciprocity.

Senator Ó Domhnaill referred to the legislation and the attack our Constitution. We cannot, by law, introduce legislation that is contrary to the Constitution. The advice we have is that the Bill is not contrary to the Constitution. In the context of who has more to lose, obviously the coastline in the South is larger than in the North. That is a geographical fact. I do not think that should be the determinant in terms of the arrangement, it is either a good thing to have a reciprocal neighbourhood arrangement or it is not. I happen to believe firmly that it is good for many reasons, some of which are shared. It is a good thing to have, but the important thing is that when we have it, that we manage the resource separately. Dealing with managing a resource is separate from the issue of the principle of access, which the Bill is about. The amendments deal very specifically with the terms and conditions under which boats from Northern Ireland would have access.

I do not want to avoid the point made by Senator Mac Lochlainn about meeting Mr. Gerard Kelly. I do not know the gentleman but I obviously know of him. I very much regret the course of action he is taking and I appeal to him not to pursue it but, of course, nobody can have, through such action, a vetoing effort on the course of the national Legislature. We obviously operate in terms of collective wisdom. It is, as Senator Mac Lochlainn knows, sub judice. The judgment is not perfected and it is to be perfected within a period of 28 days and it is then open to any party to appeal. I do not wish to stray into the details of that but it is not, as the Senator stated, an easy issue. If it were, it would not be an issue. My engagement with the inshore fisheries sector has been extensive for many reasons, not least because I believe there is a tremendous opportunity for it in the context of that resource being properly managed and shared in the context of voisinage. For those reasons, I am sure the Senator will understand that I cannot accede to that request.

Senator Nash made the point around being satisfied as to whether there is need for UK legislation. It is our side of the bargain that has fallen down. We have to mend our fences in that regard. We are still enjoying access. In the context of direct conversations I had on Monday, 18 March with the minister in the UK, Mr. Goodwill, MP, he said they were satisfied that the legal basis for voisinagecontinued to exist for it and that they were interested in continuing that arrangement. It is a truism that it is open to any sovereign government at any time to revisit, amend, or vary any legislation on the Statute Book. I find it difficult to envisage circumstances under which a Dublin Government would consider taking that action in the context of this Bill because we have to be generous, proactive, bridge building and good neighbours. It is open, in circumstances that we probably cannot envisage that may happen some time down the road that may lead us in that direction.

Senator Nash made the point that there is no such thing as a Northern Ireland register for vessels. I am assured by my officials that there is and obviously such a register would be available in the context of any prosecutions in terms of entitlement to fish in that area. Senator Grace O'Sullivan queried whether we had the legal authority to prosecute. I ask Members to cast their minds back a couple of weeks. it proves the legal authority we have to prosecute. Some boats from Northern Ireland in our zone were prosecuted. That is what has brought a degree of urgency to this. We do not want to stand accused in terms of not wanting hard borders either on land or on sea. That has crystalised what is at stake here, but it is abundantly clear we obviously have the power to prosecute.

Senator Ó Domhnaill made the point about riding roughshod over small fishermen. I ask him to meet the representatives of either the Regional Inshore Fisheries Forums or the National Inshore Fisheries Forum with whom I have engaged extensively in the context of a plan for that sector. I do not think any of those representatives would share his analysis. In fact, I think I have done more in a short period to promote their interests. It has not always been a comfortable journey to promote their interests, sometimes in the teeth of significant opposition from other representatives of the fishing industry.I make no apologies for that. It is the right thing to do. It is a sector whose potential, for a long period of time, did not get significant recognition. I utterly reject the idea that the my Department and I are in any way party to riding roughshod over the inshore sector or small vessels to the benefit of larger vessels. I ask the Senator to look at the decision we made last December to ring-fence the inshore sector for smaller boats. That decision has also been transposed into this legislation. I do not, therefore, accept the Senator's premise.

I have dealt with most of the issues raised. One can make this issue complex and tie it into Brexit. There are consequences from Brexit that spill over into the debate, but at its heart it is a simple argument. It is about reinstating something that existed up to October 2016. These arrangements have fallen down on our side but our industry continues to enjoy the right to fish in the zero to six nautical mile zone off the North. It is as simple as that. One can add layers of complexity onto it in the context of the shared history on the island of Ireland and the issue of Brexit. The matter of Brexit is very significant in the context of our access to the UK's waters generally. The kind of message we send out from here impacts on that, but at its heart it is a simple matter. Supporting the legislation is the right thing to do.