Vol. 474 No. 3
288 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for the Marine if tonnage and horsepower can be obtained from his Department in relation to correspondence from a person (details supplied) in County Cork; if so the terms under which they may be obtained; and if his Department has allocated any such tonnage since 1990. [2892/97]
Under European Union fleet policy the capacity of member states' fishing fleets is determined by decisions taken in the context of the multi-annual guidance programmes for EU fishing fleets.
Against this background, sea-fishing boat licensing policy is designed to control entry to the fleet and requires that equivalent capacity must first be removed by the applicant from the sea fishing boat register before a new vessel may enter the fleet.
The Department does not maintain a "tonnage bank" as appears to be suggested by the Deputy's question. It is up to individual applicants to comply with the requirement in relation to tonnage replacement capacity which is a prerequisite for processing applications.
