I propose to take Questions Nos. 4, 61 and 104 together.
Under the Iberian Act of Accession the fisheries aspects of the Act fall for review by the end of this year. Accordingly in June last the Commission submitted proposals to the Council of Fisheries Ministers to modify the terms of that Act in certain key respects. The principal elements of that proposal envisaged:
(i) the abolition of the basic and periodic lists of boats entitled to fish in Community waters; and
(ii) the removal of all special controls on the Spanish and Portuguese fleets and their replacement in the meantime by unspecified measures applying on a Community wide basis.
In addition, the Commission made no proposals for the renewal of the Irish Box which under the terms of the Act of Accession is due to lapse by the end of 1995. Instead, the proposals tabled envisage full access for the Spanish and Portuguese fleets to all EU waters outside twelve miles.
There was no substantive discussion of this matter at the June Council but I did take the opportunity of indicating that any significant change in the present arrangements, including any changes to the Irish Box, would have major direct implications for control, conservation and territorial fishing patterns in the Irish zone and that I had major difficulties with the Commission proposal.
The matter was considered in some detail at the Council of Fisheries Minister's on 22 November last. The Commission proposal, as well as a tentative Presidency compromise, came up for discussion. I made it clear in the strongest terms that neither the Commission proposal nor the Presidency compromise was acceptable. I explained to Council the importance and sensitivity of the issue to the Irish Government and Irish fishermen. I stressed that, from a control perspective, the track record of the Spanish fleet in the Irish economic zone was most unsatisfactory. In particular I pointed out that (a) one out of every two Spanish vessels boarded is detained for serious fishery offences; (b) nearly three quarters of these vessels were in breach of the terms of the Iberian Act of Accession; (c) apart from these breaches, the vessels concerned also had serious infringements relating to log books and undersized fish; (d) since Accession, 40 per cent of the vessels on the basic list have been arrested for serious offences; and (e) recently, a new problem — secret holds — had come to notice and eight vessels have been detained over the last year. I also stressed that the capacity of the Spanish fleet far exceeded the resources available to that fleet.
Similarly, the Presidency compromise proposal presented serious problems for me. It envisaged (i) the repeal of the basic and periodic list systems, (ii) the provisions of alternative Community-wide measures, and (iii) the removal of the Irish Box. It also failed to link the level and pace of the easing of specific controls on the Spanish fleet with the resolution of the serious over-capacity problem in the fleet. In response I insisted that the list system and the Irish Box be retained pending the adoption of suitable alternative measures and that the possibility of applying measures which are specific to the Spanish fleet be maintained.
This matter will come up for decision at the Fisheries Council on 20 and 21 December. I can assure Deputies that I am fully aware of the gravity of the issues involved and that no effort will be spared in securing the best possible outcome. In advance of decisions to be taken at Council, I do not feel it would be prudent to speculate on possible actions in the EU Court although I should mention that I have placed a reserve on legal grounds on the proposals at present before the Council.
For the added information of Members, I have been in touch with the President of Council of Fisheries Ministers since this parliamentary question was tabled and he has agreed to meet me next Tuesday to address the various proposals before the Council on 20 and 21 December.