Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 October 2019
8. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has jurisdiction over the inner six mile zone around Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40623/19]
View answerThe waters within Northern Ireland’s 0-6 mile limits are part of the 12 nautical mile territorial sea adjacent to Northern Ireland and are relevant for the purposes of the longstanding ‘voisinage arrangement’. Under that arrangement Northern Ireland vessels have been permitted to fish in the State’s 0-6 mile limit, and Irish vessels to fish within the same limits off Northern Ireland. The arrangement was an exception to the general rules on fishing access made by the 1964 London Fisheries Convention, and these arrangements were carried over into the Common Fisheries Policy when both Ireland and the UK joined the then European Economic Community.
