Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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675. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence his plans to increase investment in naval surveillance to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by foreign vessels, including having inspectors on board with access to all areas of these vessels in territorial waters. [21429/17]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 establishes the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) as the competent Authority for securing efficient and effective enforcement of sea fisheries protection legislation and the sustainable exploitation of marine fish resources from the waters around Ireland. To this end, the SFPA has a Service Level Agreement with the Department of Defence to secure efficient enforcement of sea-fisheries law through support provided by the Defence Forces, namely the Naval Service and the Air Corps. In accordance with this Agreement, an Annual Control Plan is agreed between the parties that sets out the strategy for achieving sea-fisheries control targets each year. The Naval Service is empowered to board and inspect vessels and their cargos and, when necessary, to formally detain vessels and direct them to port for arrest by An Garda Síochána. The role of the Naval Service and the Air Corps in support of the SFPA is coordinated by the Fisheries Monitoring Centre which is located at the Naval Base in Haulbowline and is operated by the Naval Service on a 24/7 basis.

The White Paper on Defence (2015) sets out the investment priorities for the Defence Forces for the next decade. There has been significant investment in new Naval Service Patrol Vessels over recent years with the commissioning of the LÉ Samuel Beckett in May 2014 , LÉ James Joyce in September 2015 and the LÉ William Butler Yeats in October 2016. A contract for an additional sister ship was placed in June 2016 at a cost of €54.3m, bringing investment in the new ships programme to over €250 million since 2010. This fourth ship is scheduled for delivery in mid 2018. The White Paper on Defence (2015) also provides for the replacement of the Air Corps’ two CASA 235s Maritime Patrol Aircraft, with consideration of their replacement with larger more capable aircraft.

The Naval Service and the Air Corps will continue to work closely supporting the SFPA in its work to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by any vessel in Irish waters.