HC Deb 31 January 1995 vol 253 c644W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what extra funding is available from the EEC for the costs of additional fishery protection efforts to control Spanish access to the Irish box from 1996.

Mr. Jack

Decisions on the detailed arrangements to apply from 1 January 1996 have yet to be made.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his answer of 20 January,Official Report, column 738, to the hon. Member for Southend, East, (Sir T. Taylor), what assessment he has made of the relevant financial benefits accruing to (a) the Irish Government and (b) Her Majesty's Government in respect of the arrangements for the Irish box.

Mr. Jack

Discussions have not yet reached a stage at which such an assessment could be made.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many of the Spanish fishing vessels to be admitted to the Irish box have been inspected by British fisheries protection vessels for secret fish holds.

Mr. Jack

As I indicated in the reply given to the hon. Member on 20 January,Official Report, columns 735–36, under the agreement reached at the December Fisheries Council it is for each member state to inform the Commission, by the end of March this year, of its proposed reference list of named vessels which may have access to the fisheries covered by the agreement. Access to the Irish box—excluding VIIa and VIIf N of 50 °30'N—for Spanish vessels will not be permitted before 1 January 1996. From that date they will be subject to possible inspection by British fishery protection vessels when they are in UK waters within the Irish box and elsewhere in western waters.