Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 May 2014
599. Deputy Ciara Conway asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will examine a case (details supplied); if his Department will assist or provide guidance in having this vessel registered as a 345 kW on the Irish registry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22509/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2003, the functions of sea-fishing boat licensing were transferred 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. All applications for sea-fishing boat licences are considered by the Licensing Authority. The head of the Licensing Authority is the Registrar General of Fishing Boats. The Act prohibits the Minister from exercising any power or control in relation to any particular case or group of cases with which the Licensing Authority is or may be concerned.
The Licensing Authority received an application to license the MFV “Courage” in the Polyvalent Segment of the fleet on 27 December 2013. In accordance with normal licensing procedures, a licence offer issued to the applicant on 8 January 2014 containing seventeen conditions all of which must be complied with before the vessel can be licensed. Condition number three requires that the vessel must be issued with a safety certificate (i.e. a Fishing Vessel Safety Certificate) and condition number seven requires that the gross tonnage and kilowatt engine power must be determined. Both of these functions are entirely matters for the Marine Survey Office of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. In relation to the Register of Fishing Boats, the Registrar General is legally obliged to register the characteristics of the vessel as established by the Marine Survey Office. Consequently neither my Department nor the Licensing Authority has any role in the establishment of engine power.
