§ Mr. BOLANDasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether his attention has been called to the fact that, according to the Scotish Fishery Board's Report for 1911, there were forty-five prosecutions of British trawlers in which convictions were obtained, that sixteen of the detections were made by fishermen or private individuals; and whether, in view of the failure on the part of the "Helga" and other Government boats to detect cases of illegal trawling off the coast of Kerry, to which his attention has been called, can he state what steps, if any, he proposes to take in order to put down these illegal practices?
§ Mr. T. W. RUSSELLThe seas off the coast of the county Kerry will receive the amount of supervision which is possible, having regard to the means at the disposal of the Department and the claims of other portions of the Irish coast. As already indicated to the hon. Gentleman, local fishermen on the county Mayo coast have co-operated with the Department by furnishing information on which successful prosecutions have taken place. Similar co-operation on the part of the county Kerry fishermen will, no doubt, lead to like results. The provisions of the Trawling in Prohibited Areas Prevention Act can also be put into operation on reports received from fishermen, and the Department have already taken action in this direction.