Tairgim:
Go gceadaíonn Dáil Éireann téarmaí an Ordaithe seo a leanas ina dhréacht:
An tOrdú um Boird Iascaigh Réigiúnacha (Toghcháin a Iarchur), 1991
Ordú ar leagadh cóip de ina dhréacht faoi bhráid Dháil éireann an 7 Samhain 1991.
Regional Fisheries Boards (Postponement of Elections) Order, 1991: Motion.
On a point of order, I wish to bring it to the notice of the Chair that the Minister for Labour is adopting a threatening attitude towards me.
No, Sir. I am just expressing my contempt at this outrageously false challenge.
He is waving his fist at me in this House. This is a democracy. He will not get away with that here.
I wish to avoid a clash of personalities of this kind. It is not in accordance with the best procedures, dignity and decorum of this House.
On a point of order, I seek your guidance as to whether it is permissible for members of the Government to gesticulate in a threatening manner at Members of this House without——
They are only a crowd of gurriers anyway.
I did not gesticulate in a threatening manner.
You did.
The Minister for the Marine, gan aon chur isteach.
Tá an t-ordú in a dhréacht léite agam cheana féin.
It is with reluctance that I move this motion. As the House knows, 1991 was the year for the elections to the regional boards. Such elections are held every five years. The elections were linked into the Fisheries Act, 1991. I was anxious early in the summer to see to it that the Fisheries Act was on the Statute Book and I accepted a minor amendment in Seanad Éireann allowing life members of the former Inland Fisheries Trust to have voting rights in these elections. I was urged in this House by Deputy Gilmore and one or two others to do this, as well as by some Senators. However, I did not get any co-operation when I brought this back to the House and tried to have it through before the summer recess. I regret that very much, but I do not want to make heavy weather of it. The regional board elections and elections of the management committees of the new co-ops are to take place at the same time. The angling organisations and the fisheries boards contacted me and requested that I should bring this order before the House. That is what I am doing, and for the purpose stated.
This is another episode in this ongoing tale. I hope that the fish in our lakes and rivers will have as lively and long a run as this legislation. There was a controversial and in-depth debate in both Houses and further deliberation took place outside this House with regard to the constitutional question which hung over it. Members on this side would argue that we were carrying out our legislative and constitutional duties in ensuring that as far as possible this legislation would be effective.
Like the Minister, I do not wish to delay the House. I should like to think that the other provisions will be put in place as quickly as possible. However, it will take time to set up some of the structures proposed as they are new and outside the range of structures with which the fishing industry is familiar. The regional fisheries boards will have a year to prepare for the elections. This is much more time than we get to prepare for general elections. I should like to think that these elections will be skilfully and democratically carried out. Finally, I should like to ask the Minister whether the present nominees on the regional fisheries boards will remain in office and whether the present structures will continue to operate without interruption until such time as the elections take place?
I too welcome the postponement of the elections. In fact, the last time we debated this matter I requested the Minister to postpone the elections. The Minister said that he did not receive any co-operation in his effort to get the legislation on the Statute Book. I have to say that there were very good reasons for this. One must remember that the Fisheries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1987, which will be four years in operation on 16 December, gave rise to the problems in the first instance. I objected to that Act for the simple reason that regulations had not been circulated and we did not know what the rules of the co-operative societies would be. Many angling interests had indicated that they wanted the elections to be held on a five year basis as they would not be ready after four years. At present angling groups are debating the regulations in regard to the co-operative movement. I have no qualms about not having co-operated in the debate on the Fisheries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1987. Nevertheless I wish to acknowledge the efforts made by the Minister in the intervening period to try to solve this ongoing dispute.
The motion before us this morning is, so to speak, a simple technical adjustment. The need for this arises from the fact that we rushed legislation through this House which caused one of the bitterest disputes this country has seen for a long time. I want to stress that this is the reason I was not co-operative. I think the Minister said Deputies had been obstructive. I can assure him that I was not obstructive. I have acknowledged the efforts he has made over a long period to try to resolve this dispute. However, it must be remembered that the Government created the problem in the first instance. Hopefully, this long running dispute will be resolved on the fifth anniversary of the Act next year and that new legislation will be put in place.
I want to repeat that I have been as helpful as possible under the circumstances. The Labour Party objected to the legislation four years ago as we believed it was ill advised and would not work. As can be seen, it did not work, caused much bitterness and led to a loss of revenue for the country. I am glad the Minister has responded positively to the request by the angling interests, the regional fisheries boards and politicians to postpone the elections until next year. I want to repeat that I acknowledge the efforts the Minister has made to try to resolve this long running dispute. Hopefully, the issue will be put to rest once and for all in December 1992.
The Minister for the Marine is a remarkable man in some respects. One would think a Minister for the Marine who has had the run of luck, or perhaps one should say bad luck, this Minister has had with regard to this issue would have picked a day other than Friday the thirteenth to come into the House to ask us to agree——
The Minister for the Marine is in no way superstitious.
——to a further proposal in this long running and tortuous saga. The Minister's ingenuity is matched only by his courage. He suggested that one of the reasons we are here today is because of the lack of co-operation by this side of the House in regard to his earlier efforts. I am not sure what the Minister is specifically referring to. If he is referring to the effort by the Government Whip of the day in the last week before the summer recess to push the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1991, which he described as a simple amendment, into an already packed schedule of business, I do not think he can visit criticism on the Opposition simply because we requested the opportunity to have a say in the matter and asked that it be taken in October.
The Government never seem to move expeditiously on matters until the last two weeks of the session when we are made sit late hours to push through legislation, which is guillotined, and motions at an incredible speed. That is what happened in July last. If the Minister is referring to the history of the legislation before that, it must be remembered that in the last week before the Christmas recess, when people were perhaps taken up with more festive matters, the legislation which gave rise to all the problems went through this House virtually on the nod. To their credit, the angling community and the broader community reacted vehemently to that bad legislation. We have sought since then to put the matter right. The initial mistake was made by the Government, who introduced poor legislation without proper consultation or regard for the people involved.
With regard to the motion before the House, the Minister acknowledged that he was responding in part to Deputy Gilmore's proposition in regard to life members of the regional fisheries boards when he introduced the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1991, in the Seanad. While we thank him for that we would much prefer if he had listened more to what Deputy Gilmore said about the fundamental issue of the legislation, that is, the establishment of these co-operatives is as equally ill advised as the original legislation. They represent no more than the reintroduction of the rod licence by another device and are a money saving exercise by and large. It is for this reason that The Workers' Party opposed the legislation in its first and second forms and are opposed to the concept of these co-operatives. There would be no need for this motion if the Minister had accepted the advice offered by Deputy Gilmore and had not established these co-operatives in the first instance.
I ask the Minister when he is replying to the debate to confirm that the Government are having difficulties in regard to the holding of these elections, that some of the regional fisheries boards — in particular, the Eastern and Western Regional Fisheries Boards — are refusing to nominate personnel to the proposed co-operatives and that the Government are now facing a revolt at a different level in regard to this legislation.
In those few remarks I tried to acknowledge the bravery and the non-superstition of the Tánaiste in moving the motion on this auspicious day. While there is reluctance on his part there is regret on the part of The Workers' Party that we have had to reach this stage. Had the position been taken as advanced by Deputy Gilmore we would not be debating this motion today.
On behalf of the Green Party, Comhaontas Glas, I will not be opposing this motion. I hope it brings to a conclusion an inglorious saga of bungling, ineptitude, intimidation and so forth which has damaged our tourist trade and divided local communities. I hope we have seen the last of it. As I think all the Deputies on this side of the House agreed, this is extremely bureaucratic convoluted legislation. This is just another twist in its tortuous route. There appears to be a lack of co-operation by the fisheries boards and this is understandable as they had been opposed to the Bill from the start. We must all be concerned about the impasse concerning the appointment of trustees by the Minister. I would ask him to use his power of appointment with great discretion and not to exacerbate further an already delicate situation. It must be said that this matter is by no means dead. Getting legislation through the House is one thing, getting the co-operation of the various interests — the anglers, the fisheries boards, the co-operatives, Bord Fáilte and so on — is another matter. It remains to be seen whether there will be co-operation and I have grave doubts about it. We have no alternative but to give his order a chance and hope it will work.
It was not my intention to intervene in the debate but, as our spokesperson said when the original legislation passed through this House almost four years ago to the day, the Labour Party did not nod this Bill through the House. Under the auspices of Deputy Séamus Pattison we opposed it and called a vote on it. We have an impeccable record on this legislation. Other people nodded it through the House but we opposed it and voted against it.
I thank the Deputies who contributed to this brief debate. Deputy Monica Barnes asked whether the structures will remain in place. Yes, those structures will remain in place.
I thank the Minister.
I should like to express my gratitude to Deputy O'Sullivan for acknowledging the efforts, which were severe and time-consuming in trying to resolve the difficulty that arose. Deputy McCartan said his party wanted to have a say in the matter. In particular because of an amendment which came from the Seanad and which I accepted there, The Workers' Party did have their say. Indeed, Deputy Gilmore was one of the people who suggested that I do this. That is the reason I was surprised, considering that the legislation and all the fine print was examined carefully during the course of the debate. There is no revolt of any kind. There is exaggerated language about revolts, revolutions and so on. The co-operation of the regional fisheries boards will be very helpful.
In regard to the point made by Deputy Garland, Comhaontas Glas, and his concerns about the appointment of trustees, he can be assured that with the advice and assistance I have received all over the country I hope to have a well balanced appointment in the end.
I know, a Cheann Comhairle, that you would shoot me down if I referred back to the time when I was Minister for Tourism and Transport and to what Deputy Ferris said. Deputy Ferris is on the record on this issue.
Mar a dúirt mé cheana, rogha an dá díog a bhí agam sa chás seo. Theastaigh uaim go mbeadh na togcháin ann ach ba mhaith liom go mbeadh an lucht iascaigh páirteach iontu, an dream is líonmhaire, b'fhéidir. Mar gheall air sin do chinn mé ar an ordú seo do chur roimh Dháil éireann, agus molaim an rún seo don Teach.
Cuireadh agus aontaíodh an cheist.