Maeve O'Connell (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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457. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to report on his Department’s work in collaboration with the Department of Defence in the protection of fisheries. [31657/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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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 Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and the Naval Service. As Minister, I am precluded from getting involved in operational matters including in relation to law enforcement.

Accordingly, I have forwarded the Deputy's Question to the SFPA for attention and direct reply.