Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I refer to Article 10.4 of the Constitution. It is clear regarding the responsibility of the Minister and the Government to ensure that any alienation of minerals or waters is brought before these Houses, so that the Houses of the people have their say on the matter. Despite what the Minister has just told the House, in 2013, the agreement I have before me was put before Westminster. Our Government co-signed this bilateral agreement, which recognises the exclusive economic zone of the United Kingdom including Rockall and vast waters around it. This was from 2013 when the current Taoiseach and the Tánaiste were members of Cabinet, but the agreement was never laid before these Houses.

That was in contravention of Article 10.4 of the Constitution. I ask that the Minister bring that agreement for debate or ratification before these Houses at the earliest opportunity. I believe this agreement is void until he does so.

The words are there on paper. I listened to the words of the Minister and the Tánaiste, Deputy Coveney, and initially I thought they were strong words. I though he was defending Ireland's interests and was puzzled as to why the Scottish Government was behaving in this way but it turns out that we gave them the grounds to do so in 2013. I find it extraordinary that we agreed the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, which I accept went through these Houses democratically, but the Minister did not put the correspondence from the Scottish Government before us. They were telling us they wanted us out of what I regard as waters in which Irish vessels have the right to fish. I am not so brazen as to claim faraway territories but we must insist always on the right to fishing resources or all other resources around Rockall as shared resources.Iceland is contesting this bilateral agreement to the UN. It has a different perspective. Why are we not uniting with Iceland? Why are we not uniting with Denmark to ensure it is a shared space? My fear is that after Brexit, when EU fisheries policy no longer applies to the UK, we will have a serious problem on our hands. I ask the Minister to reflect on all of this and to realise that the 2013 agreement needs to be brought back before the Oireachtas as soon as possible for debate and democratic ratification or rejection by these Houses. I hope it will be rejected. I will strongly advocate its rejection. The Minister needs to explain further why this was not on the table when we were dealing with the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill.