Time for reform

Report by Cormac Burke, IFSA

Strong and hard-hitting presentations at today’s Oireachtas Committee on Fisheries from Kenny Ward (Ward Fish Ltd) and in particular Brendan Byrne (IFPEA) left the Committee in no doubt as to the task that lies before them - - a full review, not just of the SFPA but of the DAFM, both of whom it seems, have operated for decades without any form of scrutiny.

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Brendan Byrne told the meeting that for more than twenty years there has been a lack of Government oversight of these bodies and of their operations.

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“For as long as anyone in this industry can remember the Department of Agriculture, Food & Marine (DAFM) has managed to keep itself hidden from any form of government or public scrutiny…. And the same can be said of the Sea Fisheries Protection ‘Authority’ (SFPA)…. “, said Mr Byrne, adding that he current Programme for Government is committed to a statement to ‘get things done’ and this is one such thing that needs doing: a full review and reform of the DAFM.

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This led to a further discussion on the change of EU regulation regarding the ‘designation of ports’.. rules that nations like Denmark managed to adopt within six to eight weeks but, because these new port designation would do away with the need for weighing at quayside and return to the more logical weighing in the factories (which of course the SFPA do not want), we are 16 months on and the DAFM continues to drag its heels and find reasons to delay this port designation.

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On the point of current SFPA controls in Killybegs alone, the point was made that the current system is perverse and, as Committee Member Pat the Cope Gallagher said, not only is it intended to hamper Irish fishermen and the quality of their catches but that landings of foreign vessels into Killybegs was down some 56% in the past year as clearly no one wants to come into a port and be treated in an aggressive and hostile manner.

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Mr Gallagher added that with regard to the SFPA and the lack of oversight that it is clear that the 2006 Act, in which, at the behest of the SFPA, criminal and not administrative penalties were introduced for fisheries offences, it was clear to everyone that this Act must be reviewed and reformed … a commitment he made to happen during the lifetime of this current government.

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Brendan Byrne also said of the SFPA (which personally I believe could also be said of the DAFM) that “no authority should be given the authority to be the authority over itself”….. which, when one thinks about it, is exactly true of what Ireland has today…. The DAFM and the SFPA are working hand in hand but both act arrogantly when questioned and neither see themselves as accountable to any industry body or any minister or TD.

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Indeed the second highest ranking civil servant in the DAFM recently let it be known her displeasure at being called up to meetings in Dublin so often when her predecessor rarely had to do so….. personally my answer would have been that you’re getting paid several hundred thousand euros per year to be answerable on behalf of the department… in other words, do your job!

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The EU Commission was mentioned several times during the meeting and of course its ’level playing field’ mantra but the point was made that in trying to pervert the regulation regarding designation of ports…. And in attempting to adapt fisheries regulations to make them more severe on Irish fishermen than other nations, then both the SFPA and the DAFM are guilty of acting in contravention of the spirit of the EU Commission’s ‘level playing field”…. And with that in mind, Mr Gallagher proposed that members of the Commission’s fisheries policy makers DG Mare be invited to attend an Oireachtas meeting and to bypass any attempted intervention by DAFM and to discuss the issues openly with DG Mare.

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But for me, it was Brendan Byrne again who made the hardest and clear statement in that the fishing industry needs a government appointed ombudsman with irrefutable independence from DAFM or SFPA, or industry, interference who could act to protect fishermen, factories and the State in all matters.

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“We have certain departments and ‘authorities’ in this industry who are clearly not working for this industry - - we need Government to challenge these people, find out exactly who is doing what and why are they doing it?”

…. And that, I believe, is one statement that 99% of the Irish fishing industry would agree with.

Photo: Brendan Byrne, IFPEA