Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 19 Jul 1949

Vol. 117 No. 9

Committee on Finance. - Fisheries (Amendment) Bill (Seanad), 1949—Second Stage.

Mr. Dillon

I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. This Fisheries (Amendment) Bill is one of three designed to achieve a common purpose in consolidating fishery law. The procedure is first with this Fishery (Amendment) Bill to make certain minor changes in the law and also to eliminate some inconsistencies in the series of statutes which constitute the fishery code from 1842 to 1944.

This Bill is to be followed by a second Bill which will remove overlappings, redundancies and uncertainties such as where the expression "fishing engine" is used in one statute and, for precisely the same thing, "fishing instrument" is used somewhere else, and perhaps a third expression is employed to describe precisely the same thing in yet another statute. The purpose of the second Bill in this series will be to establish common procedure, common terms for identical objects; and the third Bill will be the immense volume at present resting in the Library for the convenience of Deputies which will be submitted to the special procedure laid down by the Oireachtas for consolidating legislation, and which will be presented to the Special Committee provided for under that procedure, together with a certificate from the Attorney-General that any such Consolidation Bill in fact reproduces the fishery law as it will be when these two preliminary Bills have been passed. If Deputies want me to go into details about fines and forfeitures I will.

Mr. Smith

We do not.

Mr. Dillon

I should like to point out that heretofore a district justice, on convicting a trawler which had been caught illegally fishing within our exclusive fishery limits, could fine him and/or confiscate his gear. Under Part III of the First Schedule to this Bill it is made mandatory upon the district justice, where he convicts of fishing within our limits, to declare the fishing gear forfeit.

Mr. Derrig

The same as the poteen.

Mr. Dillon

To the best of my knowledge and belief there is nothing else in this Bill which can be of particular interest to Deputies or which calls for special comment, but it does tidy up the situation in preparation for the Consolidation Bill which will be submitted to the House in due course.

Mr. Smith

As the Minister has stated, there is nothing very contentious in this measure. From the explanations which we have got in the course of the discussion in the Seanad and here we accept that, and we have no further comment to make on the Bill.

Question put and agreed to.

Agreed to take remaining stages now.

Sections 1 to 15, inclusive, agreed to.

First, Second and Third Schedules, inclusive, and Title agreed to.

Bill reported without amendment.

Question—"That the Bill be received for final consideration"—put and agreed to.

Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass."

Mr. Dillon

I must mention that I omitted to say something which I probably should have mentioned. Heretofore members of boards of conservators, if they did any illegal thing, were liable to surcharge. This (Section 6) amendment puts a duty on the clerk to each board to direct the attention of the conservators to any contemplated step which might be illegal. Once he has warned them he is discharged from liability, but if he does not warn them he himself becomes liable to surcharge as much as the members. There is that distinction.

Mr. Smith

When are we likely to get the second Bill?

Mr. Dillon

We had high hopes of doing a great deal but I am afraid the second Bill cannot hope to pass through the Oireachtas until after the recess.

Question put and agreed to.