Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 113: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will report on the Agriculture Council meeting in Brussels in June 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25683/08]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Agriculture and Fisheries Council took place on 23/24 June. I represented Ireland together with my colleague Tony Killeen, Minister of State.

The Council reached political agreement on the following proposals for Council Regulations:

Establishment of a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;

Fishing authorisations for Community vessels in third country waters and third country vessels in Community waters; and

The protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems in the high seas from the adverse impacts of bottom fishing gears.

The Council also reached a common position under the co-decision procedure on a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market. I abstained in the vote on this proposal because of my concerns that the use of "hazard-based cut-off criteria" as a basis for the approval of substances ignored the scientific principles of risk assessment. Some of the substances which fail to meet the criteria are crucial to crop protection in Ireland and their withdrawal may cause agronomic and economic damage.

Aside from the agreements reached, the Council also had discussions covering a variety of agriculture and fisheries issues. These included a policy debate on the CAP Health check, focused on the issues of further decoupling and the possibility of specific support in vulnerable regions and sector. Commissioner Fischer Boel provided Ministers with an update on developments in the WTO negotiations. In addition, Member States raised issues concerning safeguard measures in the bovine sector arising from Bluetongue, the recent evolution of costs and prices in respect of animal products, the adaptation of the BSE surveillance system, the safety and compliance with Community rules of food, feed, animal and plant imports and the co-ordination of veterinary and border controls.

As to fisheries, there was a wide-ranging debate on the impact of increased fuel prices on the fisheries sector. Also on the agenda was Ireland's request to the Commission, submitted jointly with France and the UK, for an increase in the 2008 TAC (Total Allowable Catch) for cod in the Celtic Sea. The Commission also presented its annual Policy Statement for Fishing Opportunities, which outlines its approach to setting TACs for quota species for 2009, and there was a discussion on the adoption of the updated EU-Islamic Republic of Mauritania Fisheries Partnership Agreement.