Vol. 337 No. 11
(Donegal South-West) asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry if he is aware that it has been suggested that fishery agreements entered into by EEC member states and third countries are proving detrimental to the progress of the fishing industry in other member states, in particular in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
414.
(Donegal South-West) asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry the information which is available to him in relation to fishery agreements entered into by individual EEC member states and third countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 412 and 414 together.
I am not aware that any such agreements have been concluded since the beginning of 1977. Such agreements may be entered into only by the EEC Commission acting on behalf of and at the direction of the Community as a whole. It is not illegal however for EEC member states to enter into agreements to provide for example technical assistance to third countries or for commercial interests in member states to make commercial agreements with commercial interests in countries outside the Community.
413.
(Donegal South-West) asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry if he is satisfied that EEC countries honour agreements in relation to the quotas of various species of fish allocated to them.
Quotas have not as yet been agreed in the EEC. I am, therefore, not as yet in a position to say to what extent the member states will comply with such quotas, which, when they are agreed, will be legally binding. However, comprehensive control measures are being worked out to enable the EEC Commission to monitor the situation when the quotas are agreed and take action where necessary.
