Vol. 491 No. 4
16 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources when the Attorney General will have completed his review as to the legal validity of the Luxembourg fish quota allocation of horse mackerel in December 1997, in view of the fact that he indicated that every legal and political action would be taken to overturn the unfair quota shared out of the horse mackerel catch which was subject to quotas for the first time. [12315/98]
As the Deputy is aware, I made my dissatisfaction abundantly clear at the December Council in relation to the decision establishing national quotas for horse mackerel. Since that time I have been considering the options which exist in relation to appropriate follow-up actions on this issue. In that context, I requested the Attorney General to advise on whether the Council decision on this matter was appropriately adopted and is legally valid. I understand that the final advice will be available to me shortly. Discussions to date with the Attorney General's Office do not suggest any clear basis on which the decision can be challenged. Nevertheless, when the final advice is available I will be considering it, in the context of all other factors, in deciding how to best take the issue forward.
Looking ahead, I intend to draw on our experience on this issue in our analysis of the scope for improving quota entitlements available to Ireland in the context of preparing for the review of the Common Fisheries Policy in 2002. To strategically position ourselves for the review, I am establishing a national strategy review group to consult, develop and advise on the national approach to the Common Fisheries Policy review. This group will be mandated to explore all opportunities to improve the position of the Irish fishing industry within the Common Fisheries Policy framework. The experience of the establishment of national quotas for horse mackerel will be considered in this medium term context and in parallel with any other action in the short term which I may deem to be necessary in the Irish interest.
