Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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295. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of boardings of fishing and other vessels for each year in the past ten years, in tabular form; the number of persons arrested and vessels and equipment confiscated. [39069/16]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The main day to day role of the Naval Service is to provide a fishery protection service in accordance with the State's obligations as a member of the European Union. These patrols are carried out on a regular and frequent basis.

The number of Naval Service boardings and detentions of fishing vessels for each of the past ten years is set out the in the table.

The Naval Service has no role in the confiscation of fishing equipment.

Naval Service vessels are multi-tasked in the sense that they also undertake general surveillance, security and other duties while on fishery patrol and on occasion may board other vessels. For operational and security reasons, it would not be appropriate to disclose precise details of those boardings. However I can confirm that in the past ten years, the Naval Service has been involved in a number of significant drug interdiction operations.