Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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176. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority has made representations to the Department of Defence or the Naval Service in regard to the number of boardings carried out by the Naval Service in 2018. [41321/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I am not aware if the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) has made representations to the Department of Defence or the Naval Service in relation to the matter referred to by the Deputy.

As the Deputy may be aware, the monitoring and control of fishing vessels within Ireland’s Exclusive Fisheries Zone are matters for the Irish control authorities. Under the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act, 2006, all operational issues of this nature concerning sea fisheries control are, as a matter of law, exclusively for the SFPA and the Naval Service. As Minister I am precluded from getting involved in operational matters including in relation to law enforcement and therefore I have requested SFPA to reply directly to the Deputy on the specific information requested.