John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 418: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the plans in place to increase co-operation between EU countries on marine related activity. [28637/05]

Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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A high level of co-operation already exists between Ireland and other EU member states in the marine area, in particular in relation to marine emergency preparedness and response, maritime safety, ship and port security, and fisheries policy. The Department has taken a leading co-ordination role for the EU representative group on the proposed Green Paper on European maritime policy. The first consultation meeting of member states was held on 29 September 2005. It is expected that the proposed Green Paper will cover a wide range of issues including transport, shipbuilding, tourism, fishing, water quality, oil and gas extraction, the conservation of species, and the protection of the marine environment.

With reference to fisheries policy, a key objective of the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP, is to ensure that there is co-operation and co-ordination between member states to achieve compliance with the rules of the CFP. In particular the CFP places considerable emphasis on the need for co-operation in the area of control and enforcement. In this regard the Council of Fisheries Ministers agreed in March of this year to establish a Community Fisheries Control Agency. A key objective of this agency is to improve co-operation and co-ordination between member states in areas of control and enforcement. It is expected the agency will become operational in 2006 and I am confident it will succeed in the objective outlined above.

There are also significant moves under way to improve co-operation between member states at stakeholder level. Regional advisory councils, RACs, have been established for pelagic stocks, north western waters and the North Sea. These are three of a proposed seven RACs to come into being. The principle of establishing RACs was agreed as part of the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy in 2002, as a means of increasing stakeholder involvement in and ownership of the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP, as well as improving communications and relations between fishermen and other stakeholders.