I thank the Senator for amendments Nos. 1 and 11. The issue of the standard of proof to be used by the determination panel and the appeals officer being "on the balance of probabilities" has been raised by industry on a number of occasions, including on Committee Stage in the Dáil and on previous Stages in the Seanad. It was also raised during pre-legislative scrutiny. The legal standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt" is almost entirely confined to criminal trials and is not applicable to proceedings of a civil nat…

While I have described it and have compared it to the penalty points system for motor traffic offences, which again is the civil sphere, it is penalty points we are talking about here, not criminal convictions. That is why the balance of probabilities is being used in regard to defining a civil penalty, a civil penalty being the application of a penalty point on a licence. If after accruing a significant number of penalty points over a period of time you get to certain thresholds, then there are penalties in terms …

The difference is that while penalty points for drivers are ultimately part of the criminal system, the penalty points system for fishermen is not. It is purely administrative. There is a requirement on us to have such a system within the European situation. There are appeals mechanisms but they are not in the courts. They are through determination panels, so a person can appeal, but he or she does not go to court to appeal it. That person stays within the administrative situation, so he or she is not in the crimin…

I thank Senator Boylan. The effect of these amendments, if they were taken together, would appear to be to expand the scope of the penalty points system for masters provided for under the Bill currently to encompass masters who are citizens of another member state as distinct from Irish citizens. The amendments would require in effect that the Minister would have to set up a register to cover all masters from all EU member states and then that the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, would have to assign point…

Concerns were raised about this section in the context of the equivalent provision in the licenceholder system and then in pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the Bill. The issue of points being removed where the master is found not guilty in criminal proceedings in respect of the infringement was raised. This proposal would involve both systems being interlinked. They would not stand alone from each other. There would be separate systems involving separate standards of proof between the points and th…

The penalty points system is an administrative and not a criminal system. There are appeals systems in place within this new penalty points system. If somebody who has points assigned to them feels that the law has not been properly followed, he or she can appeal that on a point of law to the courts. If the point of law is found in his or her favour, the case falls in that instance if it was not followed properly. What Senator Boylan is suggesting, however, is that where there is a criminal process in parallel to t…

This follows on from discussions we have had. This amendment relates to the appeals officer and confirms that the points shall be assigned when he or she considers that the alleged infringement is of a serious nature. The serious infringement referred to is defined in the 2020 statutory instrument for licence holders, as well as in this Bill for masters. The legal position is that the amendment confuses EU and Irish law, as well as civil and criminal law, and the difference between serious and non-minor offences in…

I thank the Deputy, who raises a fair concern. It is something that I and my Department are monitoring very closely. We are having a special meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers this Wednesday and this issue will form part of those discussions in the context of the challenges relating to the unacceptable invasion of Ukraine and what it means for gas, energy, fertiliser and grain prices. I thank the Deputy for raising the issue.

I thank the Deputy for raising in the Dáil the need to address the damage done to Pollawaddy pier. I am glad to be able to provide a broad overview of the work I and my Department are doing to support Donegal County Council and other local authorities in terms of improving our small piers and harbours. In regard to Pollawaddy slipway, I have spoken to the county manager, John McLaughlin, on the matter. The county council will be assessing the case. I have no doubt the county council engineer, Cathal Sweeney, who do…

I again thank Deputy Pringle. In the first instance, Donegal County Council as the local authority that manages the pier and harbour, is assessing the impact of the damage and repair requirement. I have no doubt it will engage, as appropriate, with me and the Government in regard to the challenges there. It is important the work to repair the pier is carried out as promptly as possible. The islanders will be well represented in the engagement with Donegal County Council. The Irish Islands Marine Resource Organisati…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — the annual rate of consumer price inflation, as measured by the European Union's (EU) harmonised index of consumer prices, has picked up sharply in recent months, reaching a multi-decade high of 5.7 per cent in December before moderating somewhat to 5 per cent in January; — the recent increase in inflation is partly a result of temporary factors related to the pandemic, which are expected to ease gradually …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 99 and 102 together. I thank the Deputies for the questions. I am acutely aware of the impact of rising input costs on farmers, family farms and businesses, as highlighted in the Deputies' questions. The very significant rise in fertiliser prices in the past year, particularly in recent months, is concerning. There are a number of factors at play in the market, including energy prices remaining well above January 2021 levels. Increased global demand, especially from the big grain-pr…

I thank the Deputies. Deputy Carthy can see from the actions I took at the end of last year in asking Teagasc to do a significant roadmap for how we can make even more efficient use of our organic fertiliser that this is an issue of which I am aware. I tasked Teagasc with that last year and published the roadmap two weeks ago. I am very much aware of this emerging issue and continue to monitor it closely. There are few farms in the country without the capacity to be more efficient in the use of organic nutrients an…

I thank the Deputies. Deputy Carthy asked about the Brexit adjustment reserve. I am open to hearing any suggestions he has specifically on that issue. This is obviously a Europe-wide issue. I do not think the energy prices relate directly to Brexit because every country is experiencing increases. Indeed, fertiliser prices are a challenge across the world. For the Brexit adjustment reserve in particular, we must be able to show specifically the correlation between Brexit and the thing we are intervening in to use th…

-----but the reality is the party is in favour of the carbon tax. It is only the very narrow and marginal increase Sinn Féin is against.

It is obviously part of Sinn Féin's plan to transition to government. It intends to go from totally opposing something and everything, as in the case of the carbon tax, to now only opposing the marginal increase.

From the agricultural point of view, the sector is one of few where farm family enterprises have a double counting mechanism so that increases in carbon tax do not impact within the farm. There is a challenge there relating to contractors, where it will have an impact.

I thank the Deputy for raising this question, which is particularly important for a significant number of fishermen, numbering some 25 or 26, who fish for squid and haddock inside the Rockall 12-mile zone. He referred to the estimated financial costs associated with this. As he knows, I received the task force report, Navigating Change, last October. The impact of the loss of access to these waters on the Irish fishing vessels that have traditionally fished for squid and haddock in the waters around Rockall was exa…

I assure the Deputy there is no lack of respect for fishermen from me or the Government. In fact, I massively respect the work they do, the challenging role they have, the daily ordeal and challenge of fishing in what can be very difficult and dangerous seas, and the contribution they make to our economy nationally and to coastal communities in particular. I have backed them since my appointment and will continue to back them in every way I possibly can, whether that be through investment in their sectors, in harbo…

I remember that debate and how the Deputy used his contribution straight after the debate. No doubt he had somebody in his office on the Facebook machine. His closing line was "Rock on, Rockall" and the Facebook post included his contribution plus the tune from which that line is taken. It was playing to an audience and trying not to get into the detail and not to recognise the real challenges and facts.