andMr. Begley asked the Minister for External Affairs if he will make available to the Dáil copies of the statements made to the Community negotiators by applicant countries for EEC membership concerning the EEC fisheries policy, or of any summaries or reports of such statements that may have been published.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - EEC Fisheries Policy.
9.
Statements made by applicant countries to the Community delegation in the course of the negotiations are confidential. As Deputies may be aware, what purport to be summaries of some of the statements have appeared in the Press and elsewhere. I am not prepared to imply that these reports are accurate by making them available to the Dáil.
Would the Minister not agree that we are in a most unsatisfactory position when the House has to depend for information about the line taken by its own negotiators and others upon reports of this kind and indeed not even on these reports but upon these reports as relayed by Opposition spokesmen? Would the Minister not agree that we should be properly and fully informed? To say that these things are confidential is nonsense since they are published——
It is not nonsense. The Deputy is now repeating what he did recently in public : making a totally irresponsible statement about a very serious negotiating position. The memorandum we presented and the statement we made on fisheries have now become conference documents and, as such, are confidential. This is a fact. That the Deputy says it is not, does not change that fact. The Deputy is working on leakages. I was quite disappointed about his attitude to the negotiations when he made such a firm public statement on a leakage as he did recently. As far as the House is concerned, I can say that at every meeting so far we have brought forward the question of fisheries as it affects us. I suppose I could brief the Deputy on what we presented but I can assure the House that our position in relation to the depletion of stocks and exclusive access to our present fishery areas for inshore fishermen have been brought forward on each occasion. Our study of the marketing effect of the regulations does not, as yet, show any problems for Ireland, but we have achieved in negotiation a position where we are having discussions on technical matters with technical experts of the Community on the regulations. If we see in the final regulation, when it is implemented, the possibility of problems for our fishermen then we will have discussions with the Community. This is the same arrangement which has been negotiated for other countries. I do not know how to deal at each step of the negotiations with Opposition Deputies who are prepared to make statements on facts not well founded. These are confidential documents. We are in serious negotiation. I certainly would be prepared to talk to any Deputy who is willing to treat them on a confidential basis.
That is a separate matter. The problem we face is that accounts have been given of the Irish Norwegian and British negotiating positions. These have not been denied I or qualified in any way by the Government. I want to ask the Minister whether the impression given by those reports that the Irish position as stated is merely one of explaining the difficulties and not of proposing solutions or answers in contrast to the apparent Norwegian and British position is a true impression or have we put forward, as the Norwegians have done, specific proposals or specific objections to the EEC policy?
Basically we have achieved to date the same as the Norwegians, the right to consult on technical matters with technical experts, the right to discuss the effects of the application of the regulation on our fisheries. This is basically what the Norwegians have achieved. Again, I would say that this is a negotiating position. If at any time to protect our position in the negotiations I have to stay silent and allow those leaks and Opposition statements to get legs under them, there is nothing I can do about it. The negotiations are the important part.
Not leaks.
Have we put forward proposals on how to deal with fisheries?
We cannot debate this question all afternoon. We have 130 questions.
I want to ask one further supplementary. I appreciate that the Norwegians and ourselves have achieved the same position because the EEC have given the same answer to both. I want to know whether we have confined ourselves to a kind of poor mouth exposition of our problems or whether, like the Norwegians, we have put forward concrete proposals. I am not asking what proposals we have put forward. Have we put forward proposals? We are entitled to know that.
We have put forward proposals on how to deal with it and we have attained the same position at this time as the Norwegians on the basic negotiations dealing with those problems.
We have put forward proposals on how to deal with the problem.
Yes. This is negotiating, not making statements. It is a factual position of negotiating that we will have consultations and that we will have discussions. I do not think there is any need for anybody seriously concerned to worry about the way we have been negotiating. We have attained or achieved basically what the Norwegians have.
Did the Minister say we put forward proposals?
Yes, and again next Tuesday I intend to do the same. We will bring forward the fisheries question.
Questions Nos. 10, II and 12 postponed.