Ireland’s fishing industry has erupted in anger after Minister for the Marine Simon Coveney signed a new Statutory Instrument designed to derail the recent High Court decision that had discredited the system of penalty points applied to fishing vessels, shunting the issue back into the the spotlight.
The Skipper reports that the High Court in Ireland had previously accepted the industry case that the system of penalty points effectively branded a fisherman as guilty before the due process of law had taken place. This system also maintains penalty points on a vessel, even if the skipper has been found not guilty.
It seems that no consultation with the industry was conducted prior to the minister signing the Statutory Instrument that reinforces the policy of penalty points remaining in place on a fishing licence even when a fisherman has been acquitted of any wrongdoing.
This has been done in defiance of two High Court decisions that had been highly critical of the system of penalty points imposed by the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority and approved by the Minister.
Understandably, Ireland’s fishing industry is less than impressed at the minister’s action on this controversial and highly sensitive issue.
