Tom Sheahan (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Question 133: To ask the Minister for Transport the reason, with regard to the Torremolinos Agreement, he has not invoked option number three on behalf of the mussel fishermen of Castlemaine Harbour at Cromane. [13574/08]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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Member States of the European Community are required to implement the requirements of the Torremolinos Protocol of 1993 relating to the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels, 1977, as provided for in European Council Directive 97/70/EC, as amended. The directive was transposed into national law by the Fishing Vessels (Safety Provisions) Regulations 2002. (S.I. No. 418 of 2002).

In order to qualify for a certificate of compliance under the Directive a fishing vessel must comply with the requirements of the Directive, including the requirements of the Annexe to the Torremolinos Protocol, relevant to such vessel. While the latter requirements under the Annexe to the Protocol relate mainly to new fishing vessels, article 5 of the Directive requires that the standards for the design, construction and maintenance of hull, main and auxiliary machinery, electrical and automatic plants of any fishing vessel shall be the rules in force at the date of its construction, specified for classification by a recognised organisation or used by an administration. There is no provision in Directive 97/70/EC for exemption by a Member State from the provisions of article 5.

Existing fishing vessels which have been granted certificates of compliance to date pursuant to the Directive have met all of the requirements of the Directive, including article 5 and the limited requirements of the Annexe to the Torremolinos Protocol. Existing fishing vessels which have not to date met the standards of article 5 may not be granted a certificate of compliance unless they meet these standards, irrespective of whether they meet the limited requirements of the Annexe to the Torremolinos Protocol applicable to them. Ultimately the issue here is the safety of crews of fishing vessels and it is important to ensure that reasonable standards of safety and environmental protection are maintained.