Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 4 February 2021
251. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has considered the feasibility of issuing non-transferable transition Irish fishing licences to the fishers based in this State and who hold a UK fishing licence as suggested by some campaigners. [6130/21]
View answerThe Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2003 transferred the functions of sea-fishing boat licensing from the Minister to the Licensing Authority for Sea-fishing Boats, which operates on an independent basis subject to criteria set out in that Act and Ministerial Policy Directives. The Licensing Authority is the Registrar General of Fishing Boats, an official of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine or, under the superintendence of the Registrar General, the Deputy Registrar General of Fishing Boats. All applications for sea-fishing boat licences are considered by the Licensing Authority.
As Minister, I have responsibility for policy in relation to sea-fishing boat licensing under Section 3(3) of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2003, as amended by Section 99 of the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006. In this context and, as referred to above, Section 3 of the Act makes provision for Ministerial Policy Directives to issue to the independent Licensing Authority for Sea-fishing Boats. I am, however, precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to individual cases, or a group of cases, with which the Licensing Authority is or may be concerned under Section 3(5) of the 2003 Act.
The licensing and registration of Irish sea-fishing boats is in accordance with National and EU legislation and Policy Directives issued by the Minister. If a vessel is already licensed and registered as a fishing vessel in another jurisdiction - be that another EU Member State or Third Country - it must be removed from that register and relinquish its existing licence before it can be licensed and registered as an Irish sea-fishing vessel. In order to be licensed and registered on the Irish Fishing boat Register, a vessel must comply with the EU and national rules for licensing of a fishing vessel including meeting safety standards and providing replacement capacity in terms of tonnage (GT) and engine power (killowatts).
