Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 268: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if he has received an application for a licence following a change of ownership for a vessel (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7995/06]

John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2003, the functions of sea-fishing boat licensing and registration were transferred from the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources to the licensing authority for sea-fishing boats which operates on an independent basis subject to criteria set out in that Act. All applications for sea-fishing boat licences are considered by the licensing authority for sea-fishing boats. The head of the licensing authority is the registrar general of fishing boats, a senior official in the Department.

The licensing authority has informed me that the individual concerned applied for a sea-fishing boat licence for the vessel on 19 December 2005. A letter of licence offer, subject to a number of conditions, was issued to him on 11 January 2006. One of the conditions concerning replacement capacity remains to be complied with. The individual concerned must provide the required replacement capacity in terms of gross tonnage and engine power. I understand that the individual concerned is in the process of purchasing the required replacement capacity from a vessel that is currently on the fishing boat register. This vessel must first be deregistered before its capacity can be assigned to another vessel. I understand that the relevant paperwork to deregister the vessel and reassign the capacity has been submitted to the licensing authority and is currently being processed.

When the required replacement capacity has been assigned to the applicant's vessel, the licensing authority will issue a non-operative licence. The non-operative licence will allow the vessel owner to have the boat registered, following which the licensing authority can issue an operative sea-fishing boat licence.