Vol. 478 No. 4
9 Mr. Molloy asked the Minister for Defence whether the current strength and equipment of the Naval Service are considered adequate to patrol and protect Ireland's sea fisheries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9021/97]
The current strength of the Naval Service is 987. Arising from the recruitment campaign for enlistment in the Permanent Defence Force in 1996 and 1997, 20 recruits were enlisted in the Naval Service on 30 December 1996 and 35 have been enlisted to date in 1997. Further enlistment will take place this year, but the number that will be enlisted for service in the Naval Service has yet to be decided.
The Naval Service is currently equipped with a total of seven vessels comprising one helicopter carrying patrol vessel, four offshore patrol vessels and two coastal patrol vessels. The Naval Service is tasked with patrolling all Irish waters from the shoreline to the outer limits of the exclusive economic zone. These patrols are carried out on a regular and frequent basis and directed at all areas of Irish waters as necessary. Fishery protection patrols are complemented by assistance provided by the Air Corps in the form of aerial surveillance by the two CASA maritime patrol aircraft.
The EU has introduced a five year programme of financial aid towards the cost of measures to enforce the Common Fisheries Policy. Approximately £1.35 million was committed by the Department on EU-funded projects in 1996. The position in relation to the programme for 1997 is that Ireland's submission provides for a down payment on an additional naval patrol vessel. Requests for proposals for the supply of an additional vessel were advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union. The proposals received have been assessed and invitations to submit definitive tenders for the supply of the vessel will be issued shortly to a short list of suitable tenderers. It is anticipated that the Department will be in a position to place a contract in the latter half of this year.
Pending the implementation of the five year programme the Naval Service will continue to carry out its various roles using the existing seven patrol vessels. Two of these vessels were refurbished in recent years and another is currently undergoing a major overhaul to replace and refurbish obsolete or deteriorated equipment and extend its operational life. A further vessel will undergo similar refurbishment commencing in August next.
The question of the resources in terms of equipment and personnel required by the Naval Service to enable it fulfil its fishery protection role is kept under continual review.
I am sure the Minister, in his dual capacity as Minister for the Marine and Minister for Defence, will agree that Ireland has a phenomenally rich resource in its sea fishing waters.Surely he must be astonished at the extent of robbery of Irish fish from our fishing area by foreign vessels, some of whom are prominent members of the EU. Such fishing vessels under-record catches to such an extent that it is estimated approximately £2 billion worth of fish has been illegally taken from our sea fishing area. It is obvious from the Minister's reply that we do not have the naval capacity to adequately control the vast wealth of our fishery area and, consequently, it is ripe for rape by Spanish, Portuguese, French, Japanese and other large vessels which regularly come into our waters. Naval personnel who have boarded some of these vessels claim some of them have grossly under-recorded their catches. Surely the Government is gravely concerned about this. While I accept we are not in a position to defend our wealth, surely our EU partners have a duty to come to our aid on this matter. What steps has the Minister taken to get a commitment from the European Union to fund the establishment of a proper EU fishery patrol based in Ireland to protect our waters?
I often reflect on the lack of attention the PD-Fianna Fáil Government paid to this valuable resource when they were in Government from 1989 to 1992.
What has been done since?
The Naval Service did not even have the aircraft or the technology it now possesses, not to mention the new ship for which we will tender this year. The comments of some people would lead one to believe the Government has been in power for the past 20 or 30 years. We have been in Government for only two years——
It seems longer.
——and I am proud that in that short time we have made a number of improvements in the Naval Service. A reply to a parliamentary question tabled today will show there is no evidence to support the suggestion that we lost £2 billion worth of fish from our waters. However, I oppose any member state breaking EU law or regulations. As a result of providing additional resources in terms of new technology, co-operation between the Air Corps and the Naval Service, use of the CASA aircraft and more efficient use of the fishery patrol vessels, boardings and sightings have increased significantly.The comments of some people would lead one to believe the Naval Service does very little work. I am proud of the work it does. In 1996 the Naval Service record showed 2,927 sightings, 1,204 boardings and 33 detentions of fishing vessels.This represents an increase in sightings and boardings and a decrease in detentions, reflecting enhanced efficiency in the discharge of its fishery protection role. That the Naval Service has increased the number of boardings and the number of detentions has reduced proves the service is working effectively. The number of detentions is low given the number of boardings. This does not mean, however, the Naval Service does not detain people who break the law but that fewer people are breaking the law. Irrespective of whether five or ten more vessels are provided, there must be greater co-operation between member states in regard to reported landings and surveillance.
There has been much talk about mainly Spanish owned, British registered flagships. Those vessels fish out of British quotas. When I met the British Minister I told him there was no point in him shouting about flagships at Council of Ministers meetings if the British authorities do nothing to check the flagships fishing out of British quotas. I want greater co-operation between the British and Irish authorities on the quotas that apply to those fishing vessels and information on if and when they have been filled. During our Presidency of the EU we secured greater co-operation between this country and the country where landings are made because it is at that point landings can be checked against quotas. There is no point in providing 20 more vessels if these rules are not put in place and adhered to.
During our EU Presidency we endeavoured to secure agreement on satellite monitoring to ensure we know the whereabouts of all fishing vessels over 24 metres long. From 1 January 1998 vessels leaving our waters will have to report their catches. We have secured agreement to allow Irish inspectors to carry out inspections on landings in other member states, such as Spain, France or the Netherlands, and vice versa. EU inspectors can carry out spot checks.
I would like the Naval Service to have five or ten more vessels. I am doing something about that and we are in the process of getting a new vessel. I hope that programme will continue. It is grossly unfair to give the impression that nothing is happening in the meantime.
I am sure the Minister will accept that if we do not agree a problem exists we cannot be on the road to solving it. I did not table this question to score political points. When it comes to support for the Naval Service and enlarging its capacity in fishery patrols, my record in this area is hard to surpass. I am entitled to speak on this issue. I do not wish to reduce it to a petty party political discussion. This matter is of concern to our people and every party in this House. I put the question to the Minister because he holds the portfolio for this area. We must all be seriously concerned about the extent of the illegal fishing being undertaken in our waters. Surely we must admit that our capacity to patrol our fisheries is minimal and that is well known to those who are intent on stealing valuable stocks in our sea fisheries area. It was estimated by those who are in a position to make an educated guess that the value of illegal fishing in our waters amounts to £2 billion. Some naval officers have put the value of illegal fishing as higher than that figure. Fishermen and naval personnel are frustrated by the daylight and night-time robbery of one of our valuable resources.
The Deputy's point is overlong, let us hear his question.
The tragedy is that the vessels in question move to other waters when they have cleaned us out and the damage is done. Even though we do not have the capacity to catch all our fish stocks we should ensure that others do not steal them before we build up our fleet and have a better opportunity to extract more wealth from our waters. We are getting only £100 million value for this resource at present. Could this matter not be approached on an all-party basis?
I am not suggesting there is no illegal fishing. We are conscious of that problem and are taking every possible step to address it. It is grossly unfair to claim we are doing practically nothing about it. I say to the Deputy and to those who consistently talk about this issue that it is not only a question of providing more naval vessels. More naval vessels would help.
We should adopt the Norwegian system. Norwegian fish stocks are not stolen so easily.
Other factors must be taken into account. Those who illegally fish in our waters have to land their catches.
They are not being checked.
Let us hear the Minister without interruption.
The Deputy continues to make wild allegations.
I carried out a study on this.
It is a very poor study. There is an obligation on the member state where such fishing vessels land their catch to report such landings centrally to the Commission and to the flag state of that fishing vessel. During our Presidency of the EU we were successful in getting greater regulation and co-operation in requiring member states where catches are landed and flag states of fishing vessels to co-operate in providing information.
When it is more difficult for fishing vessels to enter and exit our waters and satellite monitoring and tighter controls are in place, regardless of our number of patrol vessels, the job of checking and surveillance will be much easier. In the past few years there has been greater co-operation in surveillance operations. The Air Corps uses CASA aircraft to report sightings of trawlers to enable the Naval Service to direct its attention to the areas under threat. That is what is happening. I am not suggesting we have enough naval vessels. As well as doing something about that this year we are also tightening up controls. Instead of directing our attention to the Irish authorities we should pay attention to those authorities which are not fulfilling their obligations.
Most of the flagships in question are under the British flag. The British authorities sold those vessels, but they are still under the British flag and the British authorities have responsibility for their activities. If the owners and crew of those vessels are breaking the rules and over fishing their quotas, the British authorities have obligations to stop them from doing so. The British authorities could use one of their patrol vessels to set up a checkpoint in international waters and require every British flagship on its way out of Irish waters to report its landings. Aspects of this matter could be dealt with by those who have responsibilities in this area. I am not shy about saying that those authorities could do a great deal more instead of constantly complaining about the activities of flagships and doing nothing to address that problem.
I did not mention flagships, although they are a problem. Will the Minister confirm if it is true that naval officers reported they boarded vessels with under-recorded catches of as much as 1,000 per cent?
If naval officers board fishing vessels with under-reported catches they have powers to bring those vessels into port——
I asked if they reported back.
——to bring the shipper and the owner of the vessel before the courts and, if necessary, use their powers — the most extensive in Europe — to confiscate the catch, vessels and gear. I would be only too pleased if those who break the law were treated harshly in our courts. I concur with the Deputy on this. I do not stand over people flouting EU regulations and, to use the Deputy's phrase, stealing our resources.
