On the Order of Business today I gave notice that I would raise this important matter on the Adjournment tonight. I want to thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for giving me the opportunity to do so. The matter I want to raise is the continuing harassment of Greencastle fishermen in Lough Foyle by ships of the British Navy resulting in destruction again last night of nets despite an apology and offer of compensation by the British Government for last Friday's events.
My purpose in raising this matter is to give whatever extra information I have to the Minister, to inform the House and seek from the Minister a statement on any action being taken. During the course of the discussion I will be mentioning what he has informed me he has done up to now.
In the early hours of Friday morning last a British Navy minesweeper came among the Greencastle fishing fleet which was operating at the mouth of Lough Foyle. They were fishing in the water where salmon fishing traditionally has taken place and where they, their fathers and their forefathers fished down the years. The vessel destroyed four nets belonging to four different boats and seized the net of a fifth boat, interviewed the skipper and took the net away. These nets used are very expensive costing somewhat over £1,000 each. I was informed of this incident by the representatives of the fishermen's association at Greencastle the following morning. I contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs. I got excellent co-operation from the people with whom I got in touch. I alerted them to the happenings of the night before. Unfortunately, the Minister was absent in London. The officials acted on the matter fairly promptly.
I requested that a protest be made to the British Government and that we ask for compensation for the loss of the nets, the loss of fish caught in the nets at the time and the loss of fishing time because these men would be without their nets for some days and, indeed, in some cases much longer. I asked our Government, through either the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries or the Department of Defence, to send a fisheries protection vessel to the scene in case there might be a repeat of the incident and, to send an on-the-spot report to Dublin.
The following day I attended a meeting of the fishermen and heard their views on the matter. I want to make it quite clear that this is not the first incident of its kind. There have been isolated incidents over a number of years. This particular incident, together with a few fairly recent incidents, has meant a stepping up in this sort of activity against Irish fishermen in the Foyle waters.
The Minister rang me yesterday and informed me—and I wish to thank him for this—that the British authorities had apologised for the incident, promised compensation for the destruction of nets, and an investigation into the net which was seized. I thought that that might have ended harassment of the fishermen and that there was a genuine resolve that this sort of thing would stop. To my dismay I had a ring at lunch-time today from the Greencastle Fishermen's Association informing me that in the early hours of this morning a British Navy frigate did almost a repeat performance. This time only one net was destroyed. This is very serious. These people are fishing in waters for which they hold licences.
I admit this may be a problem area in some respects. There are three things involved here. In 1952 the Government of the Republic and the then Northern Government purchased the fishery rights of the Foyle from the old Foyle and Bann Company. That action was necessary because incidents such as these were taking place then. The salmon fishery there is in joint ownership of both Governments and administered by the Foyle Fisheries Commission. I pointed out from the start that there is a problem of delineation of the extent of that ownership. This should be cleared up. I made an unsuccessful attempt at having this done. There was a point on land and a line drawn from it but the line was drawn to no particular point at sea. We talk about moveable points but this is a moveable line. There is confusion here. This harassment by the British Navy means that we must do something about this.
There is the other problem of the general fishing area and the operation of the 12-mile fishery limit. This must be solved because it can arise not only with regard to salmon fishing but with the general fishing that is carried on in the area.
I wish to thank the Minister for his promise to meet a deputation of the Greencastle fishermen next Friday. They will give him fuller information than I am in a position to give him now. I would not have sought this adjournment debate were if not for the fact that there was a repeat performance by the British Navy this morning.
I would ask the Minister in his reply to say if the request for the presence of one of our own fishery protection vessels has been met. When I left yesterday afternoon there were reports that a fishery protection vessel was on its way but I gather it has not arrived yet. I should like the Minister to clarify that matter for us. I should like him to make a further protest to the British authorities and I repeat my request for the presence of a fishery protection vessel.
Over and above all this, there is the question of our territorial waters but I will not go into that matter now. Deputy O'Kennedy, our spokesman for Foreign Affairs, has tabled a question for reply this week. It arises from the Maxwell decision. However, at this time I wish to confine my remarks to the factual matters that I have raised with the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The fishermen concerned operate under fairly strict rules laid down by the Foyle Fisheries Commission. Their fishing week has been shortened, drift net fishermen in other areas enjoy much longer periods for fishing and have longer hours per week for fishing. The drift net fishermen concerned in this matter have respected the rules laid down by the commission and they have co-operated with them. The Minister can quite easily get confirmation of that fact. They are labouring under those restrictions and are complying with regulations and, therefore, the Minister should ensure that this extern activity is cut out.
