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

It is worth bearing a number of points in mind. The UK claims sovereignty on Rockall. We do not recognise that sovereignty. We have not claimed sovereignty on Rockall. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a claim on sovereignty is unable to establish an exclusive 12-mile zone around an uninhabitable island. We believe our fishermen are pursuing a legitimate opportunity to fish in that region for quotas that have been allocated to them under EU Common Fisheries Policy legislation. The Senator seems to be conflating the issue of sovereignty around Rockall with the entirely different issue of the exclusive economic zone. Rockall rests within the UK's exclusive economic zone. That issue has been negotiated. In fact, when the final draft of the exclusive economic zone agreement mentioned by the Senator was concluded, following protracted negotiations, it was much more favourable than what had originally been proposed. I think there is a degree of misinformation and conflation of issues here. The issue of the accepted definition of the boundary between our exclusive economic zone and the UK's exclusive economic zone is entirely different from the matter of an exclusion zone being in place around Rockall on the basis of sovereignty. The bottom line here is in respect of sovereignty. We do not recognise UK sovereignty. We believe we have been fishing there legitimately and continue to fish there legitimately. On the question of voisinage, there is no issue connecting these two matters. The voisinagelegislation was about reinstating the right of Northern Ireland boats to fish in our inshore waters, which they had previously enjoyed. When that legislation was being considered, we enjoyed the right to fish in their inshore waters.