Vol. 434 No. 10
9 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Defence the number of foreign fishing vessels boarded and arrested by the Navy to date in 1993; and his views on whether adequate resources are available to deal with foreign vessels poaching fish off our coast.
In 1993 to date the Naval Service has carried out 428 boardings of foreign fishing vessels and 53 of those boardings subsequently resulted in detentions for alleged illegal fishing.
The Naval Service has seven patrol vessels which are deployed on fishery protection duties in the most efficient manner having regard to current and predicted fishing patterns. Assistance is rendered by the Air Corps which has one helicopter located on board a naval vessel as often as weather conditions are suitable and one fixed winged aircraft which is dedicated to fishing protection. The fixed winged aircraft will be replaced in 1994 by two new aircraft of a similar but more sophisticated design. These are the two Casa aircraft being built in Seville by the Casa Company.
Will the Minister accept that the 428 boardings of foreign fishing vessels, and the detentions which followed, indicate not only a very active Naval Service but the extent of poaching by foreign vessels and the concerted effort by foreign vessels to rape our fishery stock? Will he accept that there appears to be a conspiracy on the part of foreign vessels, particularly the Spanish, which involves a combination of guile and strong arm tactics? The guile is displayed in the secret holds in these vessels and the strong arm tactics are displayed in the frequent instances of rammings and threatened rammings of Irish vessels. Will the Minister accept that we have a serious problem on our hands?
The Deputy will recall that some weeks ago I visited the Spanish authorities and expressed my concern in relation to the matters mentioned, particularly the size of fish being caught, the question of secret holds, the periodic list not being adhered to and so on. I left them in no doubt as to our view of their behaviour. Deputy Sheehan's original question was about the Irish Box and what happens when there is that type of behaviour in the Irish Box. We have to prevent that type of behaviour occurring when the Irish Box will no longer apply after 1 January 1996.
I wish to pay tribute to the Naval Service who are doing a tremendous job in very difficult circumstances. I wish to pay tribute to the manner and the method used by Naval personnel in carrying out their duties.
I join with the Minister in complimenting the Naval Service. In view of the extent of the problem can the Minister give the House any information on the estimated volume and value of our stocks which are poached in this fashion? Does the Minister agree that we have a legitimate case before the European Community to obtain additional funding to develop the resources of the Naval Service and the Air Corps to counteract the threat to our fish stock?
Funding is available. For example, we are receiving 50 per cent assistance for the Casa aircraft. If the Deputy puts down a question to me I will be able to tell him in more detail the value of the fish being taken by the particular country he mentions; alternatively, I will be able to provide the information in the next week or two before the next Question Time. I have no problem about supplying the information.
In light of the value of the illegal take from Irish waters as well as the legal catch, does the Minister agree that a considerable sum of money is being transferred to our partners in Europe? Those who think we go to Europe with our hand out on a continuous basis should be reminded that a considerable amount is being taken out of the country as a result of the legal and illegal fish catch. Does he agree that because of the appalling way the Government is treating Naval Service recruitment the Irish Naval Service has neither sufficient personnel nor ships to deal with the ongoing problem of illegal fishing? Does he agree that because of the illegal catch the EC is obliged to provide us with resources to ensure we can patrol our 16 per cent of EC waters so that we can uphold the law? Does he agree there is an obligation on the EC as well as on the Government to ensure there is sufficient personnel in the Irish Naval Service to deal with this very serious problem?
I agree that the Irish Naval Service is doing a great job in the circumstances. As I say, they have seven ships at their disposal which are being used very efficiently. In addition, with modern communications technology their task of communicating with each other, while difficult, will be made easier.
I agree there has been illegal fishing. A case can be made that as a direct result of illegal fishing, moneys are being misdirected from Ireland to the country of the vessel that was fishing illegally. There is a case to be answered. I am considering very urgently updating the legislation, which will not only allow the courts to confiscate the gear and the fish and impose a fine but will also allow the courts to confiscate the vessel.
Hear, hear.
That is very important. As the Deputy well knows, the problem is that the vessel must be released after the first offence and inevitably the second time the vessel is caught, both the name of the vessel and its owners have changed. The offence should remain with the vessel and that is my intention in the context of what might be done in legislation.
A final question, I am concerned that progress is rather slow today.
The Minister can be assured of the support of this side of the House if he takes the legislative measure he suggests. We have been calling for that for some time.
The question related to the adequacy of resources to deal with fishing vessels. Is it the case that because the Government has not approved the recruitment policy the Minister proposed we have insufficient staff in the Navy to provide the necessary cover?
I pay tribute to the Irish Naval Service because they are carrying out their tasks in a very thorough fashion.
Will the Minister answer the question?
Order, let us now proceed to Question No. 11.
The Minister is evading the question.
