Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 10 Dec 1991

Vol. 414 No. 4

Written Answers. - Commercial Fishing Licences.

Proinsias De Rossa

Question:

39 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for the Marine if he will outline his view on the proposals that decisions on the allocation of licences for commercial fishing vessels should be made by the EC Commission; if his attention has been drawn to the dissatisfaction at the absence of any appeals mechanism at present for unsuccessful applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for the Marine (Mr. Wilson)

I would raise strong objections to any proposals by the European Commission that the decision making powers governing the issue of licences to fish Irish quotas should be vested in the Commission rather than in the Irish authorities. I am not aware, however, of any specific formal proposals from the Commission in this regard, although there may be thinking within the Commission that the granting of such powers to the Commission could be useful in the context of conserving stocks and managing the control and reduction of fishing fleets.

As regards an appeals mechanism for unsuccessful licence applicants, I am satisfied that the existing system provides sufficient opportunities for an aggrieved person to have the decision in his or her case thoroughly reviewed. In the first instance, the process involved in taking a decision to grant or refuse a licence is designed to ensure that the decision is justified on the basis of the policy objectives and guidelines in place. Second, a person may, in the normal way, question the decision and, if so questioned, the decision would, of course, be fully reviewed. I should mention in this regard that I, as Minister, would personally review the facts in all such cases. If an applicant at that point is still not satisfied, he or she may, of course, raise the matter with the office of the Ombudsman and I would pay very close attention to the views of that office. Finally, the applicant could pursue the matter by means of seeking judicial review.

In my experience the issues raised by persons who have not been granted licences tend to be related mainly to the questioning of the policy in place rather than to the fairness of the treatment of their applications.