Fisheries Amendment Bill will be delivered in this Dáil session – Harrington

Fine Gael Cork South West TD, Noel Harrington, has today (Thursday) welcomed the inclusion of the Fisheries Amendment Bill on the A list of the Government’s legislative programme, saying the Bill will be delivered during this Dáil session.

“The Fisheries Amendment Bill will address a number of anomalies in fisheries legislation, which have been in place since the original bill was enacted by the previous Fianna Fáil Government in 2007. It allowed for skippers to be criminalised for minor infringements, and created impractical barriers for fishermen.

“The fishing industry has been consistently called for the legislation to be amended, and indeed a commitment to do so was included in both Fine Gael’s Election Manifesto 2011, and subsequently the Programme for Government. I am pleased that the Government is delivering on this commitment by dealing with the legislation in the current Dáil session.

“The criminalisation of fishermen for minor offences will be reversed under this new Bill. Instead, an on-the-spot fine will apply for minor offences, removing the need for cases to be unnecessarily brought before court.

“The Fisheries Amendment Bill is not a pirate’s charter, but it will give some comfort to skippers where minor infractions or offences have occurred. Up until now, a skipper could be criminalised for something as minor as a technical log book error; the Fisheries Amendment Bill will ensure a much more pragmatic approach is taken.

“I am pleased that this legislation is being progressed in this Dáil session, and I will liaise with my colleague, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Simon Coveney TD, to ensure delays are avoided and that the legislation is enacted as soon as possible.”

ENDS