Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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523. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his position on the voisinage agreement which was agreed under the London Fisheries Convention 1964 and subsequently materialised under exchange letters of 1965 between both jurisdictions; his future approach to this agreement; the degree of engagement he has had with his UK counterpart since the Bill on the voisinage agreement was withdrawn from Seanad Éireann in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48410/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The Voisinage arrangements are long-standing reciprocal arrangements which have allowed fishing boats from Northern Ireland access to fish within the 0 to 6 nautical mile zone of the territorial waters of the State and vice versa. On the basis of the provisions of Articles 2 and 9 of the London Fisheries Convention, pre-existing reciprocal arrangements were re-affirmed at the time by means of an exchange of letters in the 1960s between the UK/Northern Ireland and Ireland. The Common Fisheries Policy (Article 5 of Regulation 1380/2013) provides for the continuation of such neighbourhood arrangements.

On 27 October 2016, the Supreme Court issued a judgment in a case taken by a number of mussel seed fishermen in which it found that fishing by Northern Ireland boats within the 0 to 6 nautical mile zone of the territorial waters of the State under the Voisinage arrangements is not permitted by law. It is important to note that the Supreme Court upheld the High Court finding that the Voisinage arrangements are not invalid but that, as it stands, there is insufficient provision for them in domestic law. The Supreme Court in fact noted that the arrangements were a sensible recognition at official level of practice and tradition, where fishing boats traditionally fished neighbouring waters.

The application of the judgment is to all fishing by Northern Irish fishing boats in the 0 to 6 nautical mile zone, measured from the baselines, relying on the Voisinage arrangements. The Government approved the publication of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill to address issues raised by the Supreme Court judgment, in so far as it relates to access for Northern Irish vessels. If enacted and commenced, the Bill will give the Voisinage arrangements a proper legal footing. The Bill was published in February 2017, commenced debate in the Seanad shortly thereafter and remains before the Oireachtas.  It is fair to say that considerable opposing views to the Bill have been expressed in debates to date, particularly linking the Bill to Brexit.  In the meantime, access continues to be provided for Irish sea-fishing boats to the Northern Ireland 0 to 6 nautical mile zone. 

The UK had initially intimated that it would like to retain the Voisinage arrangements element of the London Fisheries Convention but had not advanced any legal basis on which they can be retained. More recently, and not surprisingly, the UK has expressed concerns about the unequal situation which currently prevails.

From the moment the UK leaves the EU, any negotiations on a new Voisinage arrangement would fall within the exclusive competence of the European Union and would be negotiated by the EU with the UK on our behalf.